The February 1st kickoff to Black History Month falls on the anniversary of a watershed moment in U.S. history: The day in 1865 President Abraham Lincoln signed the resolution proposing the 13th Amendment to outlaw slavery.

An ongoing student initiative at Seattle University called Moral Mondays will honor National Freedom Day with a slate of speakers Monday night, including former City Council District 3 candidate Pamela Banks. According to organizers, The State of the Black Union will be a wide-ranging conversation on the issues facing Seattle’s African/African American community. Here is the speaker lineup:

Brian Surrat, Director, City of Seattle’s Office of Economic Development
Gerald Hankerson, President, NAACP Seattle/King County
Hon. J. Wesley Saint Clair, King County Superior Court Judge
Pamela Banks, President & CEO, Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle
Rahwa Habte, Seattle Department of Neighborhoods
Harvey Drake Jr., Pastor, Emerald City Bible Fellowship; Founder & President, Urban Impact
Steve Sneed, Managing Artistic Director at Seattle Center

Those interested in attending the free event are asked to RSVP at [email protected]. On February 8th the group will be holding a memorial and peace walk for Trayvon Martin at the Capitol Hill campus and a “pilgrimage” to the Central District on February 15th.

Moral Mondays, which takes its name from the eponymous North Carolina civil rights marches that started in 2013, grew out of Black Lives Matter actions happening around Seattle in late 2014. Past Moral Monday events have included speakers on slain Seattle Urban League director Edwin T. Pratt, indigenous activism, and the experiences of black students at Seattle U.

Visit moralmondaysatsu.tumblr.com for more details.

MORAL MONDAYS at SU: State of the Black Union

National Freedom Day, Monday, February 1, 2016
6:00 – 8:30pm
Campion Ballroom / Campion Building
Seattle University / 914 East Jefferson

The State of the Black Union includes a reception with light refreshments, panel discussion with local leaders, and a community roundtable on issues facing the African / African American community in the City of Seattle and Greater King County.

Co-Sponsored by Global African Studies – https://www.seattleu.edu/artsci/departments/africanstudies/

National Freedom Day honors President Abraham Lincoln’s signing of a resolution that proposed the 13th amendment of the nation’s constitution to outlaw slavery on February 1, 1865. On June 30, 1948, President Harry Truman signed a bill proclaiming February 1 as National Freedom Day.

RSVP via [email protected] for this free “National Freedom Day” event next Monday, February 1, 2016.