WATCH NIGHT OR FREEDOM EVE

Many of us have heard of Watch Night, but have you heard of Freedom Eve? I recently stumbled upon an article about the origin of Watch Night services in Black churches.

Watch Night or Freedom Eve began December 31, 1862, when enslaved people gathered together to wait for the new year, and for the Emancipation Proclamation to become law. That Watch Night was like no other ushering in of the another year.

Usually, the beginning of a new year was dreaded by the enslaved. It was customary for owners of the enslaved to tally their property at the end of the year. Owners often sold off the enslaved to pay off their debts. So, on New Year’s Eve the enslaved gathered to spend what could be their last night together with their loved ones.

Let’s go back to Freedom Eve and try to imagine the emotions that many of our ancestors must have felt that night. Fear would have been mixed with the excitement that they would finally be free from abuse, torture, rape, exhaustion, and hopelessness. Fear of what freedom would bring to a people that did not know the world that laid outside the plantations that they were imprisoned in. Most did not have family members that they could draw strength from. Imagine being alone in a hostile world where you could not read, write and were penniless.

The dawn of the new year found many of the enslaved in the same condition as they were the day before, except the world around them had changed. The formerly enslaved were free to exist without benefit of an education, money, or protection from the people that once owned them.

The formerly enslaved were not citizens until 1868 when the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified. Slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime was abolished by the Thirteenth Amendment which was ratified by the states on December 6, 1865. The Emancipation Proclamation only applied to Slave State that participated in the rebellion. Border States that owned slaves were not affected by the Emancipation Proclamation. The Emancipation Proclamation was a way to shorten the war by taking the enemies resources it did not abolish slavery.

This Watch Night will find the descendants of the enslaved gathering together with loved one eager to say goodbye to 2021 and hoping that 2022 will be better. Freedom is not even a thought for most of us, because we know that we are not free. Abolishment of Slavery without reparation, and the truthful teaching of the history of the United States of America is not freedom for descendants of both the enslaved and owners of the enslaved.

HELLO!

Do you remember walking down the street and a total stranger would greet you as their brother or sister? Now, we hardly speak to each other. I look into the eyes of people as I approach to see if they would be receptive to me greeting them. Often times, people walk pass without looking in my direction. But there are times when I greet someone, and we strike up a conservation; that for a few moments this world does not feel so harsh.

I make a point to speak to the youth, especially the young black boys and young men, because I want them to know that I value them. There is a hard look in some of our children’s eyes. They have had to grow up too fast and they are already hardened by life.

Some of the reactions that I get from the young people that I say hello to is usually a surprised look on their face that an adult is speaking to them. Some look at me strangely and keep walking, other recover from the shock and say hello back.

The children that I speak to in my neighborhood had that same surprised look the first time I spoke to them. Now, they say hello or wave when they see me. Some of them still wait for me to speak first, but I see them watching me, waiting for the greeting.

It cost me nothing to say hello, but what I receive when someone says hello back is always uplifting.

I encourage all of us to use wisdom and discretion when we are out in the streets. These are strange times that we are living in, but fear cannot be the basis of how we live our lives. Make an effort to greet each other, especially the children when it is safe and appropriate to do so. By doing so, maybe we can learn to value each other.

PERILOUS TIMES

If you read 2 Timothy 3:1-5 you cannot help but believe that we are indeed living in perilous times. But when haven’t we been living in perilous times? We were in peril from the moment that we touched the shores of America. Our existence continues to be in serious and immediate danger as we drive while black, jog, go to a convenience store, or sleep in our own beds. We are in peril whenever a crime is committed, and it is more expedient to convict than to seek justice.

During the holiday season when families gather to create memories for the future. A spirit of discourse, and chaos lingers around the edges. Unresolved issues pull up to the holiday table and threaten to disrupt the uneasy truce.

But…what would it look like if we could extend grace to each other? In these perilous times can we be grateful for the breath of life that flows through our bodies. Grateful for another day to make things right. To ask for forgiveness and to forgive.

The thing that has helped me regarding forgiveness is I tell myself that people are doing the best they can. I also tell myself that I am doing the best I can, and when I mess up, I tell myself that tomorrow is another day, one in which I can try to do better.

This holiday season when we sit at the holiday table where a loved one maybe missing let’s try to give each other grace. Let’s try to think the best and not the worst of others. Let’s truly be thankful for one more day to make some things right and to do better.