July 4, 1827 was the legal and official beginning of the emancipation of African enslaved people in NYC. Although some did not gain full freedom until nearly 20 years later. Africans had been enslaved in the colony of New Amsterdam and later New York since 1623, more 200 years. This slide lecture focuses on the formerly enslaved Africans, their institutions and organizations and their celebrations of emancipation, from on July 5, 1827 through the end of the Civil War. Parades, church attendance, elaborate dinners and other festivities marked the celebration of freedom for over 50 years.
Dr. Sherrill D Wilson earned a Ph.D. in Urban Anthropology from the New School for Social Research. She is the author of New York City's African Slave Owners. She lectures and writes on the subject of the African presence in northern colonial era cities. She has lectured at the Smithsonian Institute, Columbia University, the American Museum of Natural History, NY National Monument African Burial Ground and numerous other organizations and institutions, nationwide and internationally.
