Frederick commemorates historic Emancipation Association with marker unveiling

Frederick officials on Wednesday unveiled a marker commemorating the historic Emancipation Association building as dozens of attendees listened to speakers speak about Frederick’s history of liberation from slavery.

The dedication event commemorated the association and the building at 160 W All Saints St., which served as its headquarters. The association held one of the only emancipation celebrations in Maryland from 1865 to 1951, according to the marker, a rectangular plaque located directly in front of the building.

Wednesday’s event was held on Juneteenth — a federal holiday that celebrates June 19, 1865, the day the Union troops arrived in Galveston Bay, Texas to announce that enslaved Black people in the state were free, more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation and declared all enslaved people were free.

According to Christina Martinkosky, a historic preservation planner for the city of Frederick, more than 3,000 people gathered in Frederick in 1865 to celebrate emancipation for the first time, which marked the formation of the Frederick Emancipation Association.

Cheryl Renée Gooch, the African American Resources Cultural and Heritage Society’s executive director, said at the event that the Emancipation Proclamation also established the United States Colored Troops, which saw 200,000 men in the United States enlist, including more than 400 from Frederick County.

“I’m not sure that anyone today could ever really understand what enslaved Americans went through,” Frederick Mayor Michael O’Connor said at the event. “When we see these markers, it’s a chance for us to celebrate and to honor all those who have fought for justice and equality, who continue to fight for justice and equality.”

Robert Ford and Kelly Washington, two members of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment Company B, a group of reenactors that aims to preserve the legacy of Black soldiers in the Civil War, unveiled the marker with O’Connor.

Martinkosky said the city started working with a local historian in 2021 to resurvey the history of the historic district in downtown Frederick and found gaps in stories about the African American community.

“It was really then that we realized that we needed to put a concerted effort into specific research in African American history, especially associated with Frederick,” Martinkosky said in an interview Wednesday. “We’re embarking to better understand the lives of enslaved people but also the institution of slavery and what kept it going.”

Showcasing the research in the form of markers will make the information easily accessible to community members, she said.

The city received grants from Preservation Maryland and the Maryland Historical Trust for the research and to create the marker, Martinkosky said. The marker is the first of a series as part of a partnership between the city and AARCH to provide more context on historic sites of enslavement in Frederick.

A QR code on the marker leads visitors to a video from the city that explains the historical context about emancipation and the former headquarters building.

Local artist Yemi Fagbohun, who has lived in Frederick for 26 years, designed the marker after the city approached him earlier this year.

The marker’s centerpiece is Fagbohun’s portrait of Rev. Benjamin Tucker Tanner, a minister of the African Methodist Episcopal Church who supervised Frederick County’s Freedmen’s Bureau schools after the Civil War. Tanner helped formerly enslaved people find jobs, places to live and provided them education.

Fagbohun said in an interview Wednesday that he decided to emphasize a face on the marker to draw people’s eyes into the rest of the piece and the historical context that historian and author Michelle Wright wrote.

Chowan Brightful, a community engagement specialist for the city, helped plan the marker project and dedication ceremony.

Brightful, who grew up in Frederick, said in an interview Wednesday that West All Saints Street, where the Emancipation Association Building and marker are located, served as a hub for Black residents in Frederick, where churches, shops and businesses operated.

“[My dad] remembers hanging out on the streets, getting haircuts, going to get your clothes dry cleaned, going to church,” Brightful said. “It’s been a hub for Black people — like a sanctuary, almost.”

Event attendee April Lee, who has lived in Frederick for 12 years, said she did not know about Frederick’s Emancipation Association building or the city’s significance in the Civil War and its history with emancipation until she came to the event.

Lee said the impact of holding the commemoration on Juneteenth was “indescribable.” By unveiling the marker on the holiday, Lee said, the city recognized the pain that enslaved people were put through.

“It’s almost like an apology — ‘We’re sorry that our country participated in that. We’re going to honor your memory and the memory of your ancestors by putting this marker here,’” Lee said.