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Massachusetts Emancipation Day/Quock Walker Day
July 8 @ 11:00 am - 11:59 pm
Proclamation reading, history, celebration and refreshments hosted by the Black Lowell Coalition.
This event is open to the general public. All are welcome to attend. Kindly bring your own chair. Mannered pets are welcome.
Walker was enslaved in Worcester County. His freedom was on the horizon, yet his enslaver refused to manumit him. Together with the Elizabeth Freeman decision, the Quock Walker trials effectively ended slavery as a legal practice in Massachusetts. Effective January 30, 2023, the MA Governor shall annually issue a proclamation setting apart July 8 as Massachusetts Emancipation Day, also known as Quock Walker Day. Walker has ties to the City of Lowell.