Jubilee Day Celebrates Slaves’ Emancipation

Celebrating the freeing of American slaves during the Civil War, about 200 people attended the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People’s annual Jubilee Day celebration Sunday at New Christ Memorial Church of God in Christ.

From young to not so young, African American to Latino to Jew, community members gathered to remember the struggles slaves endured for hundreds of years and the hardships faced by today’s less fortunate.

Jubilee Day--celebrating President Abraham Lincoln’s Jan. 1, 1863, signing of the Emancipation Proclamation releasing American slaves from servitude--is observed on the first Sunday of each year. It gives NAACP branches across the country the opportunity to reflect on the past and take a serious look at their goals for the new year.

In a report on what the Emancipation Proclamation means today, San Fernando High School student Whitney Cornell said she was astonished to discover the document was not a declaration that all slaves in the United States be freed, but only slaves in Confederate states.

“The foundation on which it was written was shaky,” Cornell said.

On behalf of her generation, she thanked everyone “who fought for civil rights and those who campaigned for freedom.”

The San Fernando Valley NAACP holds Jubilee Day at a different house of worship each year. There are tentative plans for next year’s event to be held at the Temple Kol Tikvah in Woodland Hills, said the Rev. Zedar Broadous, San Fernando Valley NAACP branch president.

Rabbi Steven Jacobs of Temple Kol Tikvah was the featured speaker at this year’s event, held in Pacoima. A community activist, Jacobs worked alongside the Rev. Jesse Jackson in protesting Florida’s handling of vote-counting in November’s presidential election.

Jacobs took his time at the podium to criticize President-elect George W. Bush; his brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush; and the Republican Party. He pledged to work to prevent the party from winning such a close election in 2004.

“When we celebrate [the Rev. Martin Luther King] all next week, we’re going to celebrate by getting 9 million more African American voters registered in this country,” Jacobs said. “Because next election there are not going to be 15 million African American voters. There are going to be 24 million.”