This felt like the first time in history that there was a worldwide recognition of the Black Independence Day. After all, on July 4th 1776, when a group of white men met in a room to declare themselves free from the tyranny of the royal crown - these truths were only self-evident for a select few. Though the abolition of slavery was a central tenet of the north's victory in the Civil War, enslaved people were not made aware of their freedom until a few years after the signing