Austin Black Freedom Communities
A Feature-Length Documentary

CURRENT FEATURE LENGTH PROJECT

We are currently in production. If you’d like to make a donation, click here.

Charter Members of Ebenezer Baptist Church (Copy)

Thomas W. Kincheon and his wife Mary (Copy)

Austin Black Freedom Communities

Art is Cool is currently developing a feature-length documentary about Austin's Black Freedom Communities. Austin Black Freedom Communities are communities built by formerly enslaved African Americans after the civil war ended in 1865. These communities were built with little resources from the ground up and included churches, schools, and stores. We are currently raising money for the development of the documentary film. To make a donation on GoFundMe click here. To learn more about the film click here.

What are Austin Black Freedom Communities?

Watch the concept trailer above and then read a few quick facts below.

Quick Facts

#1 What are Freedom Communities?

Freedom Communities are communities built by former enslaved African Americans after the civil war ended in 1865. These communities were built with little resources from the ground up and included churches, schools, and stores.

#2 Where were the Freedom Communities located?

There were over 15 freedom communities located in Austin and Travis County. Learn more here. Check out a map that lists some of the communities here.

#3 Who is producing the documentary?

Austin-based nonprofit Outreach Productions, in partnership with Art is Cool, is producing the documentary about Austin Black Freedom Communities. Currently, both organizations are conducting research and raising money for the documentary. Your donation will be vital in helping to cover the costs of interviewing historians, archaeologists, native Austinites, and people with direct ties to Austin Black Freedom Communities.

#4 How can I watch the film?

The documentary will be complete by 2023. The team will submit to national and international film festivals. The next step is to secure national distribution (PBS) You can win a ticket to be a part of the private screening during our film festival circuit in 2023. We will pick random individuals that have donated on GoFundMe.

#5 How can I support?

We are currently raising money via GoFundMe. Click here to make a donation. If you are interested in partnering with us or becoming a sponsor, contact us here. We will provide you with a pitch/sponsorship deck.

My name is Funmi Ogunro. I am a native Austinite and filmmaker, and I’m launching the production of my first feature-length documentary: Austin Black Freedom Communities. I have decided to make this film, because many people are unaware of the rich history of Black people in Austin. It’s time for these stories to be told.

With your help, we are raising $100,000. Your support through this campaign will fund our Interview Production Fund: to film interviews with historians, archaeologists, native Austinites, and people with direct ties to Austin Black Freedom Communities. Thank you for your giving and for spreading the word! Click here to make a donation!

Watch the concept trailer above! Click here to make a donation to the film on GoFundMe!

Brackenridge Elementary. South Side Freedom Community - Early 1900s
[Photo from Austin History Center, Austin Public Library]

Like most people in Austin, I grew up not knowing the history of Black people in our city. Only a few years ago did I learn about the 15 Black Freedom Communities that were part of our city’s establishment after the Civil War ended in 1865. Clarksville, Wheatville, and Southside — to name a few.

Watch the concept trailer above! Click here to make a donation to the film on GoFundMe!

Elementary school in the Clarksville community - 1900s
[Photo from Austin History Center, Austin Public Library]

Robert Stanley 1863-1941 (right) - South Side community resident. Robert Stanley was a stone mason and laborer

In Freedom Communities, emancipated African Americans built lives in rights-protected areas, often next to the plantation where they had been held. They were followed by hundreds of emancipated African Americans from elsewhere who sought work, refuge, and missing family members. Here, thriving communities were built from the ground up, including Black schools, Black churches and Black stores.

In the 1920s, these same people were displaced from the communities they built, because of discriminatory city mandates. Today, these same regions are some of Austin’s most prominent neighborhoods, and the legacy of Black people has been overlooked.

Growing up, I did not know Austin’s Black history because it has not been well documented. Through this film, I am going to change that for future generations and bring light to the resilience of Black people, their resourcefulness in creating strong communities, and their important contribution to the development of the city of Austin, Texas.

Thank you for helping see this documentary get made so the history of Austin Black Freedom Communities is recorded and shared! Click here to make a donation!

Thank you to our Partner - Six Square

Thank you to our Partner - Pease Park

Six Square – Austin’s Black Cultural District (formerly known as Austin’s African American Cultural Heritage District) is the first black cultural district in the state of Texas and the only cultural arts district in the city of Austin. The organization was created in 2013 as an outgrowth of the City Council’s African American Quality of Life Initiative, which detailed widespread disparities, racial biases, and a decreasing Black population. Since inception, Six Square has been dedicated to improving the quality of life for African American residents through preservation of historic Black spaces, artistic cultivation, and by serving as a catalyst for social and economic development.

Pease Park — Pease Park Conservancy works in partnership with the City of Austin to set the standard for world-class park management – emphasizing environmental excellence – to improve and care for this treasured green space for the enjoyment of all.