I went to the New York State Museum in Albany today. I had heard that the museum was displaying its copy of the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation along with a speech from Martin Luther KIng Jr. on the Emancipation Proclamation that he gave in New York. The exhibit is a Black History Month special and it closes on Sunday.
The exhibit is in the Huxley Theater on the first floor with panels on slavery, abolitionism, and Lincoln.
When I was a kid back during the Civil War Centennial we learned that Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation and slaves were freed. As I learned not too much later, that was not the whole story.
The process of ending slavery took three years after the first proclamation and even then Blacks were treated by many whites as just above being slaves.
The sign says “The Failures of Reconstruction,” but as we know, Reconstruction did not fail, it was destroyed.
On the 100th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation Martin Luther King Jr. came to New York and addressed a powerful crowd that included Gov. Nelson Rockefeller, Cardinal Spellman, and heads of business and finance. His speech was a reflection on what Lincoln tried to do and what the state of emancipation was in the early ’60s/.
While I was in the Huxley Theater, I could hear all of Martin Luther King’s speech that night. On the screen were images from the 1860s, the 1960s, and today reflecting on emancipation and equal rights.
The audio was King’s speech, a deep dive into history to illustrate the suffering of African Americans even a hundred years after “Freedom.”
The I went up to look at the copy of the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. This had been hand transcribed by Lincoln with his signature at the end.
On the last page is Lincoln’s signature with Seward underneath.
King’s speech was typed and it was given to his audio engineer so he could follow. The corrections were made by the engineer.
In the copy of the Emancipation Proclamation, there are corrections and Lincoln used cute and paste technology of his day as well.
The Huxley Theater is to the north side of the museum, on the south side, for Women’s History Month, you can view a one-third model of the new statue of Sojourner Truth, Susan B. Anthony, and Elizabeth Cady Stanton.
Frankly, I was blown away.
If you go, try to spend time at the other exhibits at the museum as well. Just remember the Emancipation Exhibit will close on Sunday. Please stay to listen to all of Dr. King’s words. The papers up front are important, but the spoken word is just as important.
All pictures taken by Pat Young.
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