January has not always been about reinvention.

In the Black South, New Year traditions were shaped by history, uncertainty, and care. Long before resolutions and goal lists, the New Year was a moment of preparation—marked by food that sustained, homes put in order, and communities entering the year together.

In this episode of Beyond the Table, explores the origins and meaning of New Year traditions in the Black South, from the foods prepared on January 1 to the practice of Watch Night and collective reflection. These traditions were not about superstition or spectacle, but about steadiness, continuity, and readiness in the face of an uncertain future.

This episode opens the year with a grounded reflection on what it means to begin again—not by erasing the past, but by carrying forward what has endured.

History & Cultural Context

• The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson — Context on Southern Black life, continuity, and tradition.

• Bound to Respect by Darlene Clark Hine — Explores domestic order, care, and discipline in Black Southern households.

• Library of Congress — African American traditions and cultural practices in the U.S. South.

• Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture — Cultural history of Black life, foodways, and faith practices.

Foodways & Tradition

• High on the Hog by Jessica B. Harris — Foundational text on African American food history.

• Southern Foodways Alliance — Research and oral histories documenting Southern food traditions.

• Toni Tipton-Martin, The Jemima Code — Historical documentation of Black culinary knowledge and survival cooking.

Faith & Watch Night

• National Museum of African American History and Culture — Watch Night and Emancipation history.

• Henry Louis Gates Jr., PBS essays on Emancipation Watch Night traditions.

• African Methodist Episcopal Church archives — Historical accounts of Watch Night services beginning December 31, 1862.

Seasonal & Cultural Reflection

• E. Franklin Frazier, writings on Black family structure and community continuity.

• Oral histories from the Works Progress Administration Slave Narratives Collection.

Hello, I'm Amanda. Welcome to Beyond the Table stories of culture, memory, and meaning.

In this short episode, I wanted to pause and say thank you.

Beyond the Table launched in October, and this moment is an opportunity to acknowledge the listeners who showed up quietly, consistently, and with care. This episode reflects on what it has meant to build this show, the importance of attention and listening, and the gratitude that comes with creating something rooted in culture, memory, and meaning.

This is not a recap, but a moment of appreciation and reflection as the year winds down.

Tomorrow, a new bonus episode drops our Soul Food rewatch, covering Season One, Episodes Four and Five.

Thank you for listening, and for being part of the early life of this show.

In this Christmas episode, we explore Christmas in the Black South a tradition shaped by food, faith, memory, and the enduring pull of home.

Looking beyond commercial narratives, this episode traces how Christmas became a moment of rest, gathering, and continuity in Black Southern life. From the historical roots of holiday pauses during slavery to the lasting significance of Watch Night services, Southern foodways, and returning home, we examine how culture transformed constraint into tradition.

This is a story about kitchens and churches, sound and memory, migration and return, and the quiet meaning of belonging. Designed for Christmas week listening, this episode is reflective, historical, and grounded in lived experience.

If this episode resonates with you, consider sharing it with someone who might appreciate this story.

All sources and references are listed below.

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Email: beyondthetablecast@gmail.com

• National Museum of African American History and Culture
  — Religion in African American History
  — African American Foodways and Cultural Memory

• Library of Congress
  — Federal Writers' Project: Slave Narratives Collection

• National Park Service
  — Watch Night and the Emancipation Proclamation

• Isabel Wilkerson, The Warmth of Other Suns

• Henry Louis Gates Jr., The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross

• James Oliver Horton and Lois E. Horton, Slavery and the Making of America

• Pew Research Center
  — Religion and African American Communities

• Southern Foodways Alliance
  — Oral histories on Southern food traditions and holiday cooking