The Illinois Senate Tuesday voted to establish February as Thirteenth Amendment Ratification Month in Illinois. The vote was part of a special ceremony, commemorating the 150th anniversary of the abolition of slavery.
Matthew Holden Jr, a professor in political science at University of Illinois Springfield, talked about its impact.
"So what does the passage of the 13th amendment and the repeal of the Illinois black codes mean to me? It means no more selling us, our wives children because some law says that I’m somebody’s property.”
The ceremony featured the Lincoln Land Community College choir and a volunteer re-enacting a speech written by a Civil War veteran who was part of a Colored Troops regiment.