35th U.S. Colored Infantry Regiment hosts Emancipation Day celebration

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Saturday, the 35th U.S. Colored Infantry Regiment hosted an Emancipation Day event.

Eventgoers spent the day traveling back in time with the infantry as they told stories of real-life Black soldiers and their lives in the camp and on the front lines.

Emancipation Day was a holiday that was originally held in New Bern, North Carolina to commemorate Lincoln's signing of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and the abolishing of slavery after the Civil War.

Reenactors represented Union soldiers who served and fought for America--at a time when many states and customs discouraged black men, enslaved or free, from taking up arms.

Organizers said the original plan was for an outdoor ceremony, but heavy rain forced organizers to set up inside the Top Green Community Center.

They also provided eventgoers with reading material with more information about the regiment. Reproductions of materials used by soldiers were also on display to help bring the regiment's story to light.