From the Plantation to the Thicket: Juneteenth, Black Freedom, and ‘Marronage’ in Texas
Freedom in Texas was achieved both after—and before—formal emancipation.
Since 1954
DaLyah Jones, aka T.D. Bailey, is an eighth-generation Afro-Texan, cultural strategist, journalist, and organizer whose work sits at the intersection of narrative power, community repair, and Black Southern memory. She’s the founder and editorial director of the PECAN (Preserving Essential Cultures and Narratives) Project and previously worked for the Racial Equity in Journalism Fund at Borealis Philanthropy and for the Texas Observer.
Freedom in Texas was achieved both after—and before—formal emancipation.
Since 1954, the Observer has focused on communities who are often ignored. Funding from the Google News Initiative takes us to the next level.
The Mary Allen Museum of African American History continues to race the clock to preserve what’s left of Texas’ first African American school for Black girls and women.
Laverne Brackens and her family carry on the interwoven legacy of Black quiltmakers in East Texas.
Texas’ artistic innovation is nothing new and continues to be center stage through artists like Beyoncé during yet another period of Black rediscovery.
The coronavirus has temporarily or permanently closed almost half of all child care providers in the state, leaving few options for low-income working families.
Through the Texas Freedom Colonies Project, researchers are working to liberate data on behalf of Black Texans.
Protests where I grew up–where lynchings and KKK marches have occurred in my lifetime–could signal a shift in the region long plagued by racial terror.