Emancipation Day in Florida

May 14, 2020

May 20th is Emancipation Day in Florida

Emancipation was proclaimed in Tallahassee on May 20, 1865, 11 days after the end of the Civil War, and two years after the Proclamation first issued by President Abraham Lincoln freed enslaved people in Southern states.

Explore these online resources from the Florida Division of Library & Information Services to help join in the Emancipation Day celebration.

This video from UF's Oral History Program outlines the history of slavery and emancipation in Florida.

Take a short survey about this activity by May 27 and you'll be entered in a drawing to win a Student Life t-shirt!