Emancipation Day
Emancipation Day is held on May 8. Columbus, Mississippi. This event in the first decade of the month May is annual.
On May 8, 1865, federal troops arrived in Columbus and freed the black slaves who remained in bondage in the city. The following year, many of those former slaves and their allies celebrated the anniversary of their emancipation. The Emancipation Proclamation officially took effect on January 1, 1863. But in this part of Mississippi, the 8th of May has been celebrated in the black community as Emancipation Day.