Descendants of slaves, history buffs and activists can join the sesquicentennial anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation at the DeKalb NAACP’s annual Jubilee Day Celebration on Jan. 1 at Rainbow Park Baptist Church in Decatur.

Derrick Alexander Pope, a lawyer and author, will be the featured speaker. The program begins at 10:30 a.m.

Pope is chairman of the Pope Law Cos. International, a public interest legal collaborative; an adjunct professor of law at Georgia State University College of Law; and author of “By the Content of Our Character: A Declaration of Independence for Colored Folks, Negroes, Black People, and African-Americans” and “Thy Will Be Done: An African-American Guide to Estate Planning.”

The DeKalb NAACP marks the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation annually with a Jubilee Day Celebration.

The proclamation, which was issued by President Abraham Lincoln as the Civil War raged, became effective on Jan. 1, 1863, freeing slaves in all territory still at war with the Union, although slaves in Texas did not learn about their freedom until “Juneteenth” 1863.

Rainbow Park Baptist Church is at 2941 Columbia Drive. For more information, visit www.dekalbganaacp.org, e-mail naacpdek@comcast.net or call 404-241-8006.