The Texas Freedom Colonies Project

What does it mean to "call forth" freedom in an age of political change, unrest, and a pandemic? How should our approaches to research, community engagement, design, and planning change? What lessons can we learn from our ancestors and our lived experience? The Texas Freedom Colonies Project has invited Dr. Naya Jones to help us navigate all of these topics in an upcoming live conversation. Please join us for this wonderful dialogue on the arts, freedom-centered scholarship, and healing. It is a great way to be intentional about how you want to enter 2021! "Calling Forth Freedom" featuring scholar and healing arts practitioner Dr. Naya Jones will take place on The Texas Freedom Colonies Project Facebook page  Friday, December 4 at 9:30 am Pacific  and  11:30 am Central Time . This event is made possible in part by Texas A&M's ACADEMY FOR THE VISUAL & PERFORMING ARTS' new "Virtual Workshop Grant."

   Introduction to The Texas Freedom Colonies Project What are Freedom Colonies? From 1865-1930, African Americans accumulated land and founded 557+ historic black settlements or  freedom colonies. Since their founding, freedom colony descendants have dispersed, and hundreds of  settlements’ status and locations are unknown. Gentrification, cultural erasure, natural disasters, urban  renewal, & land dispossession have all contributed to their decline. Freedom colony descendants’ lack of  access to technical assistance, ecological and economic vulnerability, and invisibility in public records has  quickened the disappearance of these historic Texas communities. What is the Texas Freedom Colonies Project? The Texas Freedom Colonies Project puts freedom colonies on the map, on policy agendas,  and at the center of Texas history . Our goal is to prevent the erasure, destruction, and decay of cultural  properties within settlements in partnership with descendant communities. Cultural pr

We are so excited to see you all tonight at our Adopt -A- County orientation! Follow this link to register! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/128136679257

 Our October Coffee Talk video is live on our youtube channel! 

 

Happy Indigenous People's Day! from The Texas Freedom Colonies Project! The National Museum of the American Indian and the National Museum of African American History and Culture are reframing American history. How do we talk about the intersections of various peoples? How do we talk about shared histories? The symposium Finding Common Ground, moderated by Michel Martin, weekend host of NPR’s All Things Considered, focuses on the complex history of African Americans and Native Americans, and how their intertwined stories have become an essential part of American identity. Speakers explore how African Americans and Native peoples have energized each other’s movements both historically and in contemporary times, and how collective actions have been shaped by cooperation, conflict, accommodation, oppression, and resistance. Finding common ground is not always easy, but it is a vital necessity in the realization of American democracy. Distinguished speakers include Lonnie G. Bunch II

TAMU Law & TXFC Project are Teaming Up to Work on Land Loss in partnership with the Landowners Association of Texas! To learn about why land loss prevention education is so important freedom colony preservation; watch Professor Thomas Mitchell's work on Heir Property on VICE News called:  "Property Law Is Used to Appropriate Black Land"

Tune in on Saturday, October 31 for a presentation on The Texas Freedom Colonies Project, a social justice initiative which was created and is led by Dr. Andrea Roberts. Jennifer Blanks and Schuyler Carter, both Doctoral Students in the College of Architecture at Texas A&M University, will be co-hosting this spectacular presentation.  RSVP: reclaimingmemoriestx.blog/symposium/

  Check out Texas Freedom Colony research team members Jennifer Blanks and Schuyler Carter’s presentation from the Texas A&M College of Architecture’s research symposium today! They presented on Protecting and Preserving Black Spaces, Places, and Memories from Hazards and Disasters. The theme of the College of Architecture’s research symposium this year was Health, Hazards, Harmony: The Future of the Built Environment. Faculty, graduate, and undergraduate students presented a diverse range of research and creative works in a variety of presentation modes.  Congratulations Jennifer & Schuyler on a job well done!

The September Coffee Talk has been postponed, stay tuned for announcements regarding the October Coffee Talk. To listen to any of our previous coffee talks, check out our YouTube playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLz1xJ_TdkmVAWDY521mfhaJ8rJ6B01WYE