Gullah Geechee Corridor – New Year’s Eve Watch Night and Emancipation Proclamation Celebration in Wilmington
by Kathy Grear 12/28/2022Beaufort, SC – This New Year’s Eve, join the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor NHA and community partners for an annual daytime “Freedom’s Eve: A Gullah Geechee Watch Night and Emancipation Day Celebration” to bring in the new year reflecting on the importance of commemorating the date of January 1, 1863 when enslaved people in the Lowcountry, the Sea Islands and throughout the United States emerged from bondage as a result of the signing of
the Emancipation Proclamation. This event is a part of the Commission’s larger initiative to partner with Gullah Geechee communities across North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida to raise awareness about a celebration that is almost 160 years old. On December 31, 1862, Gullah Geechee people gathered in sacred spaces and places of worship praise house to await a new year, one that would mark the beginning of the end of slavery when the Emancipation Proclamation went into effect on January 1, 1863.
This date was remembered as Freedoms Eve and many churches across the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor still use the New Year’s Eve Watch Night Service to remember that historic date.
To commemorate the historic tradition, this year’s hybrid event will take place at Historic Warner Temple AME Zion Church, 620 Nixon Street, Wilmington, NC, and showcase the rich, cultural heritage of the Gullah Geechee people with performances from acclaimed performers the Magnolia Singers of Charleston, SC, Storyteller Dontavius Williams of Edgemoor, SC, the NC Ring Shouters of Wilmington, SC, the African American Dance Ensemble of Durham, NC. Hosted by Dr. Eric Crawford of Orangeburg, SC.
This hybrid event is free and open to the public, online and in-person. Limited capacity for in-person attendance Registration is strongly advised via Eventbrite.
To join us in-person or online, visit Eventbrite: Freedom’s Eve Wilmington Celebration, and claim your ticket!
Sponsored by the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor National Heritage Area, in partnership with the International African American Museum, and the North Carolina A.M.E Zion Church Wilmington District.
Watch Night services are regularly held at churches across the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor. We encourage you to attend one and learn more about the history of these important traditions — and the communities that sustain them. Visit us at www.gullahgeecheecorridor.org
