Historical Documents Coming To Utica’s Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute

Utica, NY (WIBX) - Two historical documents are making their way to Utica.

On November 6th and 7th, Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute will host "The First Step to Freedom: Abraham Lincoln's Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation."

The exhibition features Abraham Lincoln's only surviving version of the Proclamation, written 150 years ago. After being raffled off at the Albany Army Relief Association Fair in 1864, the document survived a 1911 fire at the State Capitol and was later preserved under the care of the State Library.

Also on display will be a manuscript from Martin Luther King Junior, celebrating the Proclamation's hundredth anniversary, in September 1962. He gave the speech in New York City and addressed the importance of social equality.

"The First Step to Freedom" is a free public event, and is sponsored by Trainor Associates and Trainor Digital.

This exhibition is organized by the New York State Museum, a division of the state's Education Department, who maintains both documents in the Office of Cultural Education.