On Wednesday, March 18, 2026, the International African American Museum (IAAM) will host Night at the Museum (NATM): Land & Liberation, an evening that will explore food sovereignty, land stewardship, and ancestral growing traditions.
This NATM edition highlights the museum's African Ancestors Memorial Garden and will integrate together local Black farmers, florists, herbalists, beekeepers, and a vineyard through a nighttime farmers market.
The evening’s keynote will feature Dr. Alison Kibbe, Assistant Professor of African American Studies at the College of Charleston, alongside award-winning chef, writer, and cultural historian Amethyst Ganaway. Together, they will explore the profound agricultural and cultural impact of flora carried through the African diaspora. Their conversation will examine how these plants not only transformed agricultural systems and cuisine across the Southeast and the nation, but also represent the transfer of sophisticated environmental knowledge carried by enslaved Africans. Framing food as both survival and legacy, Kibbe and Ganaway will illuminate how diasporic foodways continue to shape Southern landscapes, identity, and cultural memory today.
Music for the evening will be provided by DJ Nor_Way, founder of BLACK PEOPLE. LOVE. HOUSE MUSIC. — a brand and cultural movement rooted in community engagement and dedicated to amplifying the representation of Black and other cultures of color within house music.
The event will also feature libations inspired by West African botanicals by the Cocktail Bandits. Enjoy authentic Gullah Geechee cuisine from Miss Charlotte Gullah Catering, one complimentary beverage, and a night of land, resistance, and legacy as guests will experience the impact of Soul(Food) of Freedom.
Tickets are available to purchase now. IAAM Members receive special pricing on tickets ($5 off). Sign in to your member account during checkout to have your discount applied automatically.
All proceeds directly support the mission of IAAM to share the untold stories of the African American and the African Diaspora journeys.