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An effort to preserve, honor, & sustain the legacy our first African American placemakers!

CELEBRATE TEXAS RICH AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE! COME TO THE 1st TEXAS
FREEDOM COLONIES SYMPOSIUM AT THE 2015 TEXAS PURPLE HULL PEA FESTIVAL,
JUNE 27 IN SHANKLEVILLE, TEXAS!
Who: Festival organizers are calling all descendants of Black settlements, museum curators, genealogists, educators,
cemetery associations, Rosenwald School alumni, community homecoming presidents, archaeologists, archives,
research institutes, Historical Landmark Commissioners, artists, and writers to participate in this historic, fun event.
What and When: Descendants of Freedom Colonies will share their origin stories, successes, and ways to support
statewide preservation efforts in historic Black settlements at the first Freedom Colony Symposium at the 2015 Texas
Purple Hull Pea Festival, June 27 in Shankleville, Texas. The Symposium will be 11 am-3 pm. During the event,
Freedom Colony descendants will share stories, memories, and creative approaches to honoring their ancestors
achievements including

Genealogical research
Family histories and recipes
Sustaining family land ownership
Getting a historical marker

Church, school, or homestead preservation

Working collectively to gain recognition for settlements

across the state

Information about resources that can address current challenges to preservation will be made available. Authors and
scholars will also be on hand to talk about the
significance of Freedom Colonies to Texas past
and its future.
Where: The festival is in Newton County, which is
3 hours from Houston and an hour from
Beaumont. Jasper is approximately 18 miles away
from the festival site.
Why: Former slaves founded more than 500 of
these settlements, but today few remain due to
overdevelopment, gentrification, and population
loss.
East Texas Freedom Colony Homecoming Presidents, 2014
The Texas Freedom Colonies Project is part of a
University of Texas study on ways settlements can address these challenges and preserve their heritage. The Project is
dedicated to
Recording descendants memories & stories of how these communities began
Documenting ex-slaves contributions to Texas & American history
Learning about descendants present-day community development & historic preservation concerns
Connecting descendants to planning & preservation resources and each other!
CONTACT US!
To volunteer, be a sponsor, or vendor contact Lareatha Clay at lhclay@prm-od.com
and Pam Wright at pamwright46@yahoo.com about booths and farmers market
space. Vendor registration is online: http://www.shankleville.org/purple-hull-festival.html
Contact Andrea Roberts, Texas Freedom Colonies Project founder at
roberta318@gmail.com or The Texas Freedom Colonies Project and Texas Purple Hull
Pea Festival on Facebook.

Look for Texas Purple Hull Pea Festival & The Texas Freedom Colonies Project on Facebook!