Community Day: Watching and Waiting for Freedom

New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day mark new beginnings, both in our lives and in history. In the United States, New Year’s Eve has been a cause for celebration for African Americans since December 31, 1862, when enslaved people in the Confederate States stayed up until midnight to watch and wait for the freedom granted by the Emancipation Proclamation. For the last 220 years, Haitians have celebrated January 1 as the day marking their independence from French Colonial rule. 

Visitors will engage in Watch Night’s historical roots by creating their own scrapbooks. Inspired by the importance of scrapbooking during the Civil War, this activity includes pictures of objects, historical photos, and quotes that help them explore the significance of Watch Night.  
 
Inspired by the Museum’s newest exhibition, In Slavery’s Wake, and Haitian Independence Day visitors will learn how soup joumou has come to symbolize freedom from French Colonial rule. There will be an art-making activity for all ages, based on the Flags of Freedom artwork by Nyugen Smith in in the exhibition.