The DC Office of Cable Television, Film, Music, and Entertainment (OCTFME) announces a great lineup of talent for the Emancipation Day Concert on Saturday, April 8, 2017. The performances are scheduled from 3-9 pm, at Freedom Plaza, located at 1455 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.
Among the performers are Grammy-nominated singer and District native, Johnny Gill; hip hop artist, MC Lyte; Grammy-nominated songstress and 2003 alum of the TV singing competition, American Idol, Frenchie Davis; singer, songwriter, Howard Hewett; teen singing sensation, Cam Anthony; spoken word artists, Anna Mwalagho and Etan Thomas & Family; and other local DC talents including: go-go artists The Backyard Band and Rare Essence with special guest DJ Kool; Grammy-nominated recording artist, Carolyn Malachi and cellist Benjamin Gates.
Hosting this star-studded event is actor, Lamman Rucker; the stars of Bravo’s popular reality TV franchise, The Real Housewives of Potomac: Charrisse Jordan, Monique Samuels, Gizelle Bryant, and Robyn Dixon; radio personality Joe Clair, along with DJ Rico on the turntables throughout the event.
OCTFME will broadcast the Emancipation Day concert live on District Cable Network (DCN), a public, educational and governmental (PEG) channel operated by OCTFME, and will simultaneously live stream the performance on the OCTFME website.
The Emancipation Day Concert will provide District residents of all 8 Wards a diverse musical line up from renowned national and local talent. This year’s talent line up showcases the District’s musically diverse community.
About Emancipation Day
Emancipation Day is observed in the District of Columbia to mark the anniversary of the abolition of slavery in the Nation’s Capital. This year marks the 155th year in which slavery was abolished in the District of Columbia. On April 16, 1862, nine months before the Emancipation Proclamation, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Compensated Emancipation Act, which granted freedom to 3,100 enslaved individuals living in the District of Columbia. They were the first in the United States to be freed from slavery.
The Emancipation Commission has defined this day as a time to celebrate and recognize the history, heritage, culture, and traditions of the African American experience. Due to the Easter holiday being observed the weekend of April 16, DC Emancipation Day in 2017 will be celebrated on April 8.
About OCTFME:
The mission of the Office of Cable Television, Film, Music and Entertainment (OCTFME) is to produce and broadcast programming for the District of Columbia’s public, educational, and government access (PEG) cable channels; regulate the District of Columbia’s cable television service providers; provide customer service for cable subscribers; and support a sustainable creative economy and labor market in the District of Columbia.
