Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility As anti-Black Attacks Surge, Rep. Rabb reintroduces Emancipation Day Holiday Legislation

As anti-Black Attacks Surge, Rep. Rabb reintroduces Emancipation Day Holiday Legislation

Philadelphia House Delegation    February 3, 2025 | 5:01 PM

HARRISBURG, Feb. 2 – Amid what feels like daily chaos coming from Washington and the constitution and basic human dignity under attack, state Rep. Chris Rabb, D-Phila., today introduced legislation that would mark the first Monday of every February as ‘Emancipation Day’ in Pennsylvania.

“With our constitution and civil rights under daily assault, I feel it is more important than ever for us as a state and nation to acknowledge the ongoing struggle for equality and justice that persists in our culture,” Rabb said. “Today we are seeing that struggle continue in the face of anti-Black policies instituted by government agencies, academic institutions, media outlets and other major corporations. These pernicious attacks further imperil Black communities as well as other marginalized groups, most notably, undocumented and incarcerated workers not protected by the 13th Amendment.”

While the gradual abolition of chattel slavery in the commonwealth begun in 1780 due to the passage of the Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery, it took another 67 years for the last enslaved Pennsylvanian to be freed. And decades later, Pennsylvania would stand on the right side of history when on February 3, 1865, it became the sixth state to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment, ensuring the abolition slavery throughout the entire United States of America.

Rabb’s legislation seeks to highlight this history and acknowledge the ongoing struggle for Black liberation in a society that still poses threats and allows barriers to persist against the advancement of Black people and allied communities of struggle.

“As we celebrate ‘Black History Month’ this February, it is incumbent upon us as a state and as a legislative body to acknowledge – and more importantly accept and embrace – that while we cannot change the past, it is still well within our collective power to accurately portray it by documenting all contributions to our shared history,” Rabb said.

This unpaid state holiday would make permanent recognition of Pennsylvania’s role in abolishing slavery beyond carceral punishment, a pivotal achievement for our nation that still struggles with its legacy borne of white supremacy.

During House session on Monday, Speaker Joanna McClinton, D-Phila., made history by formally acknowledging the 160th anniversary of the Pennsylvania General Assembly ratifying the 13th Amendment.