African Americans comprise about 8% of the Binghamton population. While many families have recently relocated here, the African-American presence in the region goes back to pre-Civil War days, and important stops on the Underground Railroad were maintained in Broome and Tioga Counties.

African-American custom marks the New Year with the preparation of black-eyed peas, or Hopping John. According to tradition, the eating of Hopping John on the New Yeart promises wealth and good fortune for the year to come. (similarly, the Italians eat lentils on New Year's Day). Although the dish is of southern origin, the tradition exists among African-descended peoples in the West Indies, Guyana, and beyond. The derivation of Hopping John may lie in the fact that the feast of St. John the Evangelist takes place on December 27th, the antipode to the Summer Solstice feast for John the Baptist. "Hopping" while describing the sudden jumping of heated peas in the pot, is also a colloquial term for dance-fests in parts of England

We animated this tradition as a cluster of bouncing, twirling, black-eyed pea lanterns, an ensemble of Hopping Johns kept in line by a giant spoon.

..