President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, while the Civil War was still far from over. Lincoln’s proclamation declared that all persons held as slaves in the Confederate states were free, but that declaration had no real effect in places the United States military didn’t control. Florida was still mostly under Confederate control at that time, although Union troops—including Black soldiers—did occupy several parts of the state during the war. Many enslaved Floridians escaped behind Union lines and in some cases became Union soldiers themselves.

By May 1865, the situation had changed. Most of the Confederate military had surrendered, and Union troops were occupying the former Confederate states. On May 10, Union General Edward M. McCook arrived in Tallahassee to receive the surrender of all remaining Confederate troops in Florida. Ten days later, he raised the United States flag over the Florida Capitol and issued an order declaring that the terms of President Lincoln’s 1863 proclamation were now in full force. Florida’s enslaved people were finally officially free.

Newly-freed African American people around Tallahassee immediately gathered to celebrate McCook’s announcement, beginning an annual tradition that continues today. In the early years, Emancipation Day festivities included music, public speeches, community dinners and proud displays of the United States flag. More recent celebrations have included reenactments of General McCook’s reading of the order declaring Florida’s enslaved people free.

Emancipation may have ended the institution of slavery, but it did not guarantee equality for Florida’s newly-freed African Americans. Congress passed a series of constitutional amendments confirming the end of slavery (13th), guaranteeing equal rights for all citizens (14th) and prohibiting voter discrimination based on race (15th). In practice, however, African Americans still faced other challenges, including extralegal violence and the institution of Black Codes and Jim Crow laws that aimed to keep them second-class citizens.