Montgomery: 150 years without slavery

On Friday, dozens attended Day Street Baptist Church to celebrate the 150th anniversary of emancipation observance in Montgomery.

The event was hosted by Montgomery Emancipation Association President Dr. Richard Bailey and featured a speech by famed civil rights attorney Fred Gray as well as sermons from several church leaders.

Friday marked exactly 153 years since Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation to eradicate slavery in America. However, due to the Civil War, Montgomery did not observe freedom for slaves until three years later on Jan. 1, 1866.

“We couldn’t (observe emancipation) when it was signed, because the war was going on,” Bailey said after the program. “Some people wonder why we don’t say this is the 153rd anniversary instead of the 150th, but we try to let them know we could only begin to commemorate in 1866 once the war was over.”

Montgomery celebrates the emancipation anniversary on New Year's Day every year. Every year, Montgomery resident Willie Nelson spends January 1 at the event, but he said the energy at the 150th anniversary was particularly special.

“People seemed to be more enthused this year,” Nelson said. “This was an excellent turnout and the people seem to be extra eager to learn about the history of what’s been done since then.”

Much of the buzz surrounding this anniversary can be attributed to the special guest speaker who is, himself, written into the history books: Fred Gray.

After song and prayer, Gray addressed the packed church about how much the abolishment of slavery changed the country.

“The Emancipation Proclamation was not just an emancipation for black folks and slaves, but it really was America herself freeing herself from slavery, which never should have existed in the first place,” Gray said.

Bailey later expounded on just how much life changed for those who were suddenly given legal freedom. He said understanding those changes is what the event is all about.

“It’s to look backward in time to how those persons reacted to the year in which they could first say they were free. They didn’t have to go into the cotton fields. They could marry legally. They could assume last names. They could get jobs for wages, and they were free to move about,” Bailey said.

While much time was spent discussing historical accomplishments, Gray also addressed current civil issues.

Gray said Montgomery doesn’t suffer from police brutality or racially-charged crimes like other large cities. Instead, Gray looked at Montgomery’s gun crimes and said problems with the youth need to be addressed.

“We know we have problems nationally,” Gray said. “We don’t have as many of the criminal cases where law enforcement is killing black men like some places, but there are problems. We do have a serious problem in the black community. Our black young men are killing each other… Our white brothers and sisters have mistreated us in many instances, but we are mistreating ourselves. Don’t go back to the way things used to be.”

Rev. Willie Smith had a similar message for those in attendance about problems with black youths.

“The white man doesn’t have us enslaved. We have that ourselves,” Smith said. “We refuse to get education. We refuse to work on the job. We refuse to follow authority.”

On the whole, it was an impassioned, celebratory occasion looking at milestones reached and work yet to be done.

Gray recounted stories from the civil rights movement and the bus boycott. Mineola Dozier Smith was also in attendance. Smith, 94, is the last known living eyewitness to the Rosa Parks arrest.

After receiving applause from the audience, she was surprised with an award for her role as “eyewitness to history.”

“She’s the only known living person to witness Rosa Parks’ arrest,” Bailey said.

2015 was a historical year for Montgomery that saw the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Bloody Sunday march in Selma and the 60th anniversary of Rosa Parks’ arrest and the bus boycott.

By kicking off 2016 celebrating 150 years without slavery in Montgomery, Bailey said the key to future progress is understanding the journeys already made.

“I want people today to build on the previous celebrations and let those people in 1866 know how proud we are for how far we’ve come,” Bailey said.