A discussion commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, moderated by University of Richmond president Edward Ayers, will air at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m., Oct. 27, and 11 a.m., Oct. 28 on C-SPAN3.

Taped Sept. 17 at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, the program includes a panel of Civil War historians who will set the scene for the dilemmas facing the country on Sept. 22, 1862, the day the initial document that ordered the emancipation of all slaves was issued. Panelists will reflect on the significance of the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation and its consequences over the rest of the war and beyond.

Panelists include Eric Foner, Columbia University; Thavolia Glymph, Duke University; Gary Gallagher, University of Virginia; and Christy Coleman from the American Civil War Center.

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), with support from the History Channel, sponsored the event.

Ayers is one of the nation’s leading scholars of the history of the American South and author/editor of 10 books. His “The Promise of the New South: Life After Reconstruction” (1992) was a National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize finalist and was named the best book on the history of American race relations and on the history of the American South.

For more information, contact Rick Stoddard at 202-626-4613 or visit C-SPAN’s website at http://www.c-span.org/

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