Happy New Year!!
As we bring in 2017, the Gregory School would like to take a moment to remember the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. It is a tradition in the African American community to attend "Watch Night" services on New Year's Eve. Many people assume that this is simply an end-of-year church service, but Watch Night actually is directly connected to the Emancipation Proclamation. Read about the history of Watch Night here (http://www.npr.org/2012/12/29/167905308/watch-nights-honor-emancipation-proclamations-anniversary) and here (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rev-joan-r-harrell/watch-night-service-in-the-black-church-in-america-150-years-_b_2389965.html).
For more information on the Emancipation Proclamation, click below.
National Archives: https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/emancipation-proclamation
Library of Congress: https://memory.loc.gov/ammem/alhtml/almintr.html
We hope you had a wonderful winter vacation. Here's to a productive, peaceful, and prosperous 2017!
VW