Winston-Salem, NC-- There is no debate that gets people riled up like the subject of slavery. Whenever it is mentioned the tone and mood changes in any conversation or discussion.
It will be much the same on the exact date of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation 150 years later, which is this Saturday, September 22.
To mark the anniversary, St. Philips African Moravian Church in Winston Salem. The church will show a screening of 'Looking For Lincoln' a PBS Documentary narrated by Henry Louis Gates. The screenings are at 10am and 11am. The church is located at: 911 S. Church St. The documentary includes excerpts of Lincoln and his decision to sign the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.
Background:
According to history.com, When the American Civil War (1861-65) began, President Abraham Lincoln carefully framed the conflict as concerning the preservation of the Union rather than the abolition of slavery. Although he personally found the practice of slavery abhorrent, he knew that neither Northerners nor the residents of the border slave states would support abolition as a war aim. But by mid-1862, as thousands of slaves fled to join the invading Northern armies, Lincoln was convinced that abolition had become a sound military strategy, as well as the morally correct path.
On September 22, soon after the Union victory at Antietam, he issued a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that as of January 1, 1863, all slaves in the rebellious states "shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free." While the Emancipation Proclamation did not free a single slave, it was an important turning point in the war, transforming the fight to preserve the nation into a battle for human freedom.
WFMY News 2/History.com