Frederick Douglass officially takes his place among the Capitol’s most honored this morning, as the Washington community gathers at 11 a.m. in Emancipation Hall to unveil the District of Columbia’s statue of the abolitionist. The ceremony takes place on Juneteenth, the day marking when Union soldiers landed in Galveston, Texas, in 1865 and informed African Americans there that the Civil War had ended and they were free of the bonds of slavery.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkI5ricZGLQ

It is among the oldest celebrations of the end of slavery in the United States and is a fitting tribute to Douglass’ anti-slavery efforts.

The event will cap a long journey for Steven Weitzman’s statue of Douglass, which was commissioned seven years ago.

Correction: A previous version of this post inadvertently mashed up “anti-slavery” and “abolitionist,” producing an inaccurate description of Frederick Douglass.