Welcome to
Freedom Stories!
Freedom Stories is a two-year initiative between a coalition of organizations and agencies in Prince George’s County, Maryland to provide antiracist and social justice programs. It discovers the histories, stories, names, and places where freedom from enslavement and oppression began in Prince George’s County. Through dialogue facilitated by programs, Freedom Stories strives to connect legacy to present day Prince George’s families and provide insight into the determination and resilience of black people living in Prince George’s County in the 1700’s. We explore history to create a more just and equitable present experience.
PROGRAMS PRODUCED IN PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN:
We invite you to join us in a series of programs and events via our specially curated calendar. Click the images below to learn more.
Based on the historical book A Question of Freedom: The Families who Challenged Slavery from the Nation’s Founding to Civil War by William G. Thomas III, Out of the Vineyard is a vivid, deeply researched narrative, constructed from interviews with descendants of enslaved families and individuals closely associated with the history of freedom suits in Prince George’s County.
By using sourced material from Maryland State Archives, artists Dwayne Martin, Selena Noir, Khadija Jahmila, and Underdog the DJ have researched, re-imagined, and based these original works on the historical lawsuits known as Freedom Stories.
“Many Americans see enslaved people in history as a faceless and nameless, victims of a long-ago system that has now disappeared. The nation needs to experience…: a confrontation, a reckoning, with real people, with real histories, with real families whose descendants live among us. Until such encounters happen more widely, Americans will continue to live in separate historical spheres of understanding.”
