Commemoration Founded by SSU’s First President Kicks off Black History Month SAVANNAH, Ga - Savannah State University’s (SSU) Honors Program will host a wreath-laying ceremony to commemorate National Freedom Day at noon on Saturday, Feb. 1. at the Richard R. Wright Sr. bust in front of Wright Hall on the SSU campus, 3219 College Street, Savannah. The event is free and open to the public. Wright, who was SSU’s first president in 1890, later rallied local and national leaders to establish National Freedom Day to memorialize President Abraham Lincoln’s signing of the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery in the United States. This year’s celebration marks the 160 th anniversary of that historic act. President Harry Truman signed a proclamation naming Feb. 1 National Freedom Day in 1948. "National Freedom Day has been celebrated since its inception in 1948,” said Dr. Carolyn Jordan, director of SSU’s Honors Program. “S...
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