Elect Mike Middlebrook as State Representative for District 34 - as 2026 will become Freedom Eve Year for Mississippi County, Arkansas. Our ancestors are rooting for Us!!

On the night of December 31, 1862, enslaved Black families gathered quietly in churches and homes. They prayed, sang, and waited through the night, holding on to hope when freedom was still uncertain.

At midnight, January 1, 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation took effect.

Freedom was declared, though not yet fully realized.

That night became known as Watch Night, also called Freedom’s Eve.

A vigil of faith, endurance, and belief in a future not yet seen.

More than 160 years later, Black churches still gather on New Year’s Eve.

We watch. We pray. We sing.

Not just to welcome a new year, but to remember those who waited in the dark so we could stand in the light.

This choir carries that legacy forward.

##BlackHistory