host posted on December 22, 2011 09:35
The North Little Rock Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is encouraging local pastors and their congregations to observe Sunday, January 1, 2012 as “Emancipation Proclamation Sunday” recognizing that on January 1, 1863, 149 years ago, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring “that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." The observance can be through silent prayer, having the youth to praise God through song and dance, or whatever churches deem proper for their congregations. It has been stressed that the information below be read aloud and emphasized.
Although the Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery in the nation, it captured the hearts and imagination of millions of Americans and fundamentally transformed the character of the war. After January 1, 1863, every advance of federal troops expanded the domain of freedom. Moreover, the Proclamation announced the acceptance of black men into the Union Army and Navy, enabling the liberated to become liberators. By the end of the war, almost 200,000 black soldiers and sailors had fought for the Union and freedom.
From the first days of the Civil War, slaves had acted to secure their own liberty. The Emancipation Proclamation confirmed their insistence that the war for the Union must become a war for freedom. It added moral force to the Union cause and strengthened the Union both militarily and politically. As a milestone along the road to slavery's final destruction, the Emancipation Proclamation has assumed a place among the great documents of human freedom.
With the noted developments after the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, we have many things to be thankful for today and to God be the Glory.
Mrs. Eartha Dobbins is president of the North Little Rock NAACP Branch and may be contacted at (501) 517-7418.
Subtitle: Slavery's final destruction