This Day in History: Slaves were freed in the state of Tennessee

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - On August 8, 1863, Tennessee’s military governor, Andrew Johnson, freed his enslaved people, marking one of the first Emancipation Days in the U.S.

Formerly enslaved Sam Johnson later led efforts to officially celebrate the date, hosting the first known Emancipation Day in 1871.

Today, the Beck Cultural Exchange Center keeps that tradition alive with its annual “Eighth of August Jubilee.”

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