AN ACT DESIGNATING JULY 8 AS MASSACHUSETTS EMANCIPATION DAY ALSO KNOWN AS QUOCK WALKER DAY
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
Chapter 6 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 15RRRRRR the following section:-
Section 15SSSSSS. The governor shall annually issue a proclamation setting apart July 8 as Massachusetts Emancipation Day, also known as Quock Walker Day, in recognition the significant contributions made by Quock Walker to abolish slavery in the commonwealth and the supreme judicial court decisions, which came to be known as the Quock Walker Cases, that culminated with Chief Justice William Cushing of the supreme judicial court declaring that slavery was incompatible with the constitution of the commonwealth and recommending that the day be observed in an appropriate manner by the people.
Approved, November 1, 2022.