Massachusetts Senate Approves Bill Touting ‘Negro Election Day’

The Massachusetts Senate has passed a bill seeking to establish the third Saturday in July as Negro Election Day. About 1740, slaveowners in Massachusetts allowed slaves to have a festival day around the time of local elections in the colony, which occurred on the last Wednesday in May. It was "a general holiday for slaves," according to a scholarly article about it by Shane White (" 'It Was A Proud Day':  African Americans, Festivals, and Parades in the North, 1741-1834," The Journal of Americ

The Massachusetts Senate has passed a bill seeking to establish the third Saturday in July as Negro Election Day. About 1740, slaveowners in Massachusetts allowed slaves to have a festival day around the time of local elections in the colony, which occurred on the last Wednesday in May. It was "a general holiday for slaves," according to a scholarly article about it by Shane White (" 'It Was A Proud Day':  African Americans, Festivals, and Parades in the North, 1741-1834," The Journal of Americ…