Uploaded April 2013 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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7 score and 11 years ago this week, Abraham Lincoln abolished slavery in the District of Columbia -- a crucial step on the road to full emancipation. While we don't have any footage of Honest Abe himself, we'd like to honor the occasion by presenting a touching story uncovered by NBC's Bob Dotson about two families that lived in the spirit of equality before it was ever set into law.

Contact the NBCUniversal Archives team for more groundbreaking Civil Rights footage.



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