About Massachusetts Emancipation Day
On November 1, 2022, an act designating July 8 as Massachusetts Emancipation Day (also known as Quock Walker Day) was approved and added to Chapter 6 of the General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The day “[recognizes] the significant contributions made by Quock Walker in 1781 to abolish slavery in the commonwealth and the supreme judicial court decisions.” The MA Legislature credits Sean Osborne, Founder and President of the Association of Black Citizens of Lexington, with bringing attention to how Quock Walker’s cases helped lead to the liberation of slaves in the Commonwealth.
Learn more about Quock Walker and Elizabeth Freeman, the first African American woman to successfully file a lawsuit for freedom in the state of Massachusetts, on our Massachusetts Emancipation Day page.
4th Annual Quock Walker Day and Massachusetts Emancipation Day Celebration
Saturday, July 6, 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
1875 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, MA 02420
The Association of Black Citizens of Lexington's Quock Walker Day celebrates the Massachusetts Supreme Court decision of July 8, 1783, that found a White enslaver guilty of assault on Quock Walker, a freedom seeking Black man, and agreed with Chief Justice Cushing that the ideas of slavery and perpetual servitude were incompatible with the state constitution.
The schedule for the main stage of the celebration this year:
- 11:00 a.m. - Opening Ceremony
- 12:00 p.m. - West African Dance Workshop with Crocodile River Music. Learn and practice steps from traditional West African dances, while dancing to live musical accompaniment provided by members of the CRM team. This high-energy experience is engaging and educational for people of all ages, backgrounds and capabilities.
- 1:00 p.m. - Crocodile River Music Concert. Dance to music performed by musicians from Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Guinea, & the US.
Learn more about the celebration and register to attend at the 4th Annual Quock Walker Day event page.