Juneteenth T-Shirts for Sale!
This t-shirt pays homage to the different Freedom Colonies that emerged in the Austin area following the U.S. Civil War. Freedom Colonies are settlements that were founded by these newly emancipated Africans and their descendants. Forever Free strives to invoke the will and determination of the newly emerging African-Americans to fully participate in the U.S. on their own terms.
Chika Otuata is the graphic designer who worked with us on this design. Her research interests include black women, self-care, joy, and happiness. Chika has been instrumental in designing not only our Juneteenth T-shirts but also our logo.
Order here:
https://black-austin-tours.creator-spring.com
Juneteenth T-Shirts for Sale!
This t-shirt pays homage to the different Freedom Colonies that emerged in the Austin area following the U.S. Civil War. Freedom Colonies are settlements that were founded by these newly emancipated Africans and their descendants. Forever Free strives to invoke the will and determination of the newly emerging African-Americans to fully participate in the U.S. on their own terms.
Chika Otuata is the graphic designer who worked with us on this design. Her research interests include black women, self-care, joy, and happiness. Chika has been instrumental in designing not only our Juneteenth T-shirts but also our logo.
Order your's today:
https://black-austin-tours.creator-spring.com
This why I started Black Austin Tours! During one of the first virtual tours in 2020 with @changinglivesensemble a teen @katiakinz (Katia Kinchion) was listening to me talk about Kincheonville, Freedom Colony in southwest Austin. She immediately connected her relationship to the place and was shocked to learn the sites’ importance. Yet, she didn’t know much about it. One of the results of that tour was this poem.
Please check out this poem “We are lost history” composed by @katiakinz and @heyyy.micky.
This poem deals with these Austinite youth reclaiming their “lost histories” while pushing back against gentrification.
All of our stories are important! During Black History Month and beyond we should place emphasis on “ordinary” Black folks who made extraordinary contributions to their families and communities.
Kincheonville was established by one of @katiakinz great grandfathers Thomas Kincheon/Kinchion, shortly following the Civil War. It remained mostly intact until Austin forced Blacks to move to the “Negro District” in East Austin(1928). However, not everyone left. Many stayed. The 1950s saw more Black Kincheonville residents leaving the area as suburban development (read: White Flight) began to overtake the area.
Today, there still are Black families remaining in the area. There are also a couple of Black churches that still hold services on their original sites. The streets bare @katiakinz ancestors names.
#trueaustin #blackhistory #blacktexas #freedomcolony #blackaustin
I was trying to get my science on!
Watch #UndergroundRailroadTheSecretHistory tonight (Sunday Jan. 30 9pm CST) on @sciencechannel and streaming on @discoveryplus
I had an awesome time filming this series that came to Texas to highlight freedom seekers/self-emancipating Black people that were en route to Mexico. Dr. @lorientinuviel , a fellow @utaustintx doc grad, recommended me for the show. She will also be featured tonight showcasing her research area of Black freedom seekers en route into Mexico. I’m most happy that whole world will know some of my formerly enslaved ancestors names, faces and stories.
The Heman Marion Sweatt Travis County Courthouse is named for Heman M. Sweatt, a Black man who initially denied admissions on account of his race to The University of Texas Law School in 1946 @utaustintx . Texas quickly decided to create a law school for Black people and a university to surround it to avoid integration, which is now Texas Southern University in Houston @texassouthern . Sweatt filed a lawsuit against the State of Texas, which led to Sweatt v. Painter (1950) that successfully challenged Plessy v. Ferguson and led to the desegregation of The University of Texas at Austin. Thurgood Marshall represented Sweatt in the case.
I am reading The State Must Provide: Why America's Colleges Have Always Been Unequal--and How to Set Them Right by Adam Harris. This is a must-read book to understand the history of higher education inequalities and their continued persistence. Higher education and knowledge production have always been a critical feature and industry in Austin. The resources are starkly different between our HBCU and our Historically White Colleges and Universities (HWCUs). I have seen and lived it first hand. Please support our HBCU @hustontillotsonuniversity and other programs geared toward the success of Black students on HWCU's campuses, such as UT's @hsweattcenter center and @fli_ut
Video by @travelandleisure watch the entire episode on link in bio
#trueaustin #blackaustintours #blackhistory #austinhistory #texashistory #juneteenth #blacktravel #supportblackownedbusinesses #austin
I recently found out I was awarded the Best Travel Promoter or Influencer in the State of Texas by the @texastravelawards . I am very humbled and honored to be recognized in this manner. I started Black Austin Tours because “I wanted to tell our stories.” I wanted people to know who my people were and who we still are. I wanted people to recognize the EXTRA-ordinary people that contributed in more than equal ways to the place called Austin, Texas, the U.S., and beyond. I wanted people to know the truth, from my perspective, of our continued struggles. I never strived to tell pretty stories. I have always tried to tell my version of the truth regardless of how painful it might be to myself or others. At the core, I am grateful that I have used my family’s multiple histories that stretch beyond any individual nation-state to reach the masses. Thank you to all that listen to me and our stories. This includes the individuals who are made uncomfortable by our stories and truths. Thank you to @visitaustintx for the nomination! This is only the beginning of the journey! Y’all stay tuned and keep supporting! We ain’t done yet!!!!
#trueaustin #blackhistory #blacktravel #texashistory #blackaustin #juneteenth #blacktravel
I still haven’t found the appropriate words to express what it means for me lead the Roll Colorado Roll Tours supported 100% by @rowingdock
I’ve been asking the guests, but in reality I have really been asking myself “what must it have been like to enter this place called Texas on this waterway?” I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to fully comprehend what my enslaved ancestors’ thoughts were when the Colorado River facilitated their trafficking into Mexican Texas.
This is a very special tour. Yes, it’s very fun. However, it is very real. We trace the history of the river’s use to transform Texas into a slave holding cotton Republic. We also trace the history and meanings of borders. We talk about how the Colorado River was a border zone where self-emancipating African people who were also “undocumented” were waging against ideas and violences of il/legality. I think this tour on this river based in the Black American experience can help us to better understand the U.S.’s current issues surrounding immigration and borders.
Sign-up for a tour. They are only available for a longer time. Book now in the bio!
#juneteenth #Blackaustintours #visitaustin #Trueaustin #blackhistory #blacktravel
