Patton's bill to create Emancipation Day

COLUMBUS -- Sept. 22 would be designated Emancipation Day in the state, celebrating the day Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves, under a bill moving through the Legislature.
The House unanimously passed the bill and forwarded it to the Senate on Tuesday. It was sponsored by state Rep. Sylvester Patton, a Youngstown Democrat.
The bill honors the anniversary of President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation on Sept. 22, 1862, which led to the freedom of slaves in the Confederate states.
According to Patton, the legislation stems from research done by students at Washington Court House Senior High School in central Ohio.
In 2003, research done by a teacher and students at the high school led to state lawmakers' adopting resolutions honoring the Black Brigade, a group of 700 black conscripts who helped defend Cincinnati from confederates in 1862, Patton said.