We hereby ask the Obama administration to not only recognize January 1 2013 as the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, but as a civil rights holiday for future generations.
For years after the proclamation, it was indeed a unofficial holiday celebrated as a step in furthering civil rights. In time it dwindled away and became nothing less than a date in time. Without the Emancipation Proclamation we would not have the 13th, 14th and 15h amendments to our U.S. Constitution.
"Emancipation Day" is not only a day to commemorate civil rights, but a day to remember, reflect and celebrate our nation's great history.