Free At Last: National Freedom Day

National Freedom Day is a holiday celebrated on February 1 celebrating the freedom of all slaves in the United States.

The holiday was created by Richard Robert Wright, Sr., a former slave who decided that there should be a holiday celebrating the freedom of slaves after the Civil War.

In 1865, on February 1, President Abraham Lincoln signed the 13th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, freeing all U.S. slaves. It was almost 75 years before February 1 became an official holiday. The holiday was proclaimed by President Harry Truman one year after Wright’s death in 1947.

This holiday is part of a long-running tradition of celebrating Black History, including Negro History Week, which started in 1926, and Black History Month, which began in 1976.