On the night of December 31, 1862, enslaved and free African Americans gathered, many in secret, to ring in the new year and await news that the Emancipation Proclamation had taken effect. Just a few months earlier, on September 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued the executive order that declared enslaved people in the rebelling Confederate States legally free. However, the decree would not take effect until the clock struck midnight at the start of the new year. (Source: The Smithsonian Institute)

Join us at The Heritage Society on 1100 Bagby Street, HTX 77002

Saturday, December 28, 10 AM – 11:30 AM

Tuesday, December 31, 10 AM – 11:30 AM

Performances by Actress Kijana Wiseman and Poet Dr. Don Williams

Experience a historic houses tour with re-enactments of Watch Night known as “Freedom's Eve,” marks when African Americans across the country watched and waited for the news of freedom. Today, Watch Night is an annual New Year's Eve tradition in places of worship that includes the memory of slavery and freedom, reflections on faith, and celebration of community and strength.

On the night of December 31, 1862, enslaved and free African Americans gathered, many in secret, to ring in the new year and await news that the Emancipation Proclamation had taken effect. Just a few months earlier, on September 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln issued the executive order that declared enslaved people in the rebelling Confederate States legally free. However, the decree would not take effect until the clock struck midnight at the start of the new year. (Source: The Smithsonian Institute)

Join us at The Heritage Society on 1100 Bagby Street, HTX 77002

Saturday, December 28, 10 AM – 11:30 AM

Tuesday, December 31, 10 AM – 11:30 AM

Performances by Actress Kijana Wiseman and Poet Dr. Don Williams

Experience a historic houses tour with re-enactments of Watch Night known as “Freedom's Eve,” marks when African Americans across the country watched and waited for the news of freedom. Today, Watch Night is an annual New Year's Eve tradition in places of worship that includes the memory of slavery and freedom, reflections on faith, and celebration of community and strength.

June 3, 10, 17 (Sponsored in part by Constellation Energy)

10:00 AM, 11:30 AM, 1:00 PM, and 2:30 PM

This was our most popular tour last year. When you book your tour on Saturdays in June, enjoy red punch and authentic tea cakes.

Come learn why the international organization UNESCO designated our three historic houses as Sites of Memory for their “Slave Trade Project” and why House Beautiful Magazine named our Black History Tours as a must-see. Reader’s Digest Magazine also named the Reverend Jack Yates House as the most famous house in Texas two years in a row.

Simply book your historic house tour ticket on these Saturdays… June 3, June 10, and June 17 - and enjoy Teacakes and Red Punch (sponsored by our corporate partners at Constellation Energy) with your tour.

June 3, 10, 17 (Sponsored in part by Constellation Energy)

10:00 AM, 11:30 AM, 1:00 PM, and 2:30 PM

This was our most popular tour last year. When you book your tour on Saturdays in June, enjoy red punch and authentic tea cakes.

Come learn why the international organization UNESCO designated our three historic houses as Sites of Memory for their “Slave Trade Project” and why House Beautiful Magazine named our Black History Tours as a must-see. Reader’s Digest Magazine also named the Reverend Jack Yates House as the most famous house in Texas two years in a row.

Simply book your historic house tour ticket on these Saturdays… June 3, June 10, and June 17 - and enjoy Teacakes and Red Punch (sponsored by our corporate partners at Constellation Energy) with your tour.

June 3, 10, 17 (Sponsored in part by Constellation Energy)

10:00 AM, 11:30 AM, 1:00 PM, and 2:30 PM

This was our most popular tour last year. When you book your tour on Saturdays in June, enjoy red punch and authentic tea cakes.

Come learn why the international organization UNESCO designated our three historic houses as Sites of Memory for their “Slave Trade Project” and why House Beautiful Magazine named our Black History Tours as a must-see. Reader’s Digest Magazine also named the Reverend Jack Yates House as the most famous house in Texas two years in a row.

Simply book your historic house tour ticket on these Saturdays… June 3, June 10, and June 17 - and enjoy Teacakes and Red Punch (sponsored by our corporate partners at Constellation Energy) with your tour.

Our Speaker Series has returned! Come have lunch with us in-person or participate via Zoom! Our Speaker Series invites HOUnique subject matter experts on Houston and Texas history. Meet like-minded Houstonians at these events, bring your work colleagues, and invite your friends. Proceeds from the event go to preserving Houston history.

Join historian Cheryle Cavitt for stories about Houston’s Black-owned businesses located at the sophisticated Pilgrim Temple. This is a unique Black History lecture, because Cheryle and her mother were responsible for attaining the historical marker The Ancient Order of Pilgrims in Sam Houston Park. Cheryle has a mini-museum from the Pilgrim Temple’s days of glory and we are looking forward to seeing what she brings to the Tea Room.

A Zoom meeting link will be shared with those who register.

If joining us in person, we will send you instructions with a lunch menu or you may click here to see the lunch menu to place an order. We will pick up your lunch at Rosalie located at the C. Baldwin Hotel (named after Charlotte Baldwin, “the mother of Houston”). You may also bring your own lunch. Drinks are available for sale in our gift shop.