BOOK the rise team
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS & WORKSHOPS
We offer four distinct speaking engagement options tailored for schools, companies, universities, nonprofits, and community groups. Bring meaningful history, storytelling, and community-building to your organization with the RISE team. Our speaking engagements and workshops explore the legacy of Black freedom communities, the descendants we’ve met, and the lessons these communities offer for building stronger, more connected neighborhoods today. Through research, storytelling, and practical tools, we help audiences understand the importance of land, memory, resilience, and community, and how these themes apply to classrooms, workplaces, and communities across America.
OPTION 1: The Untold Story of Austin’s Black Freedom Communities
Learn about the history, land ownership, innovation, and resilience of Austin’s Black freedom communities and the families who built schools, churches, and strong neighborhoods from the ground up. This talk shares our research, our conversations with descendants, and the lessons these communities offer for building belonging and community power today. Perfect for institutions looking to connect local history to national themes of resilience, identity, and leadership.
OPTION 2: Storytelling as Preservation: A Guide to Ethical Storytelling in Your Community
This session explores how storytelling can protect culture, memory, and identity in families and communities. Participants will learn how we conduct research, build trust with descendants, gather archival material, and ethically tell stories rooted in lived experience. Ideal for schools, arts organizations, and teams looking to strengthen their storytelling or documentation practices.
OPTION 3: Archival Workshop: Preserving Your Family or Community History
A hands-on workshop teaching participants how to archive, preserve, and protect their family or community stories. Learn practical skills for organizing photos, documents, oral histories, and digital files using accessible tools. This workshop empowers attendees to safeguard their history for future generations and strengthen community memory.
OPTION 4: Land, Legacy & Leadership: A Black History Month Keynote
An inspiring keynote on the legacy of Black land cultivation, community-building, and cultural leadership. This presentation highlights the brilliance of Black families who built strong communities under extraordinary circumstances—and how their leadership models can guide us today. Great for companies, universities, and civic groups seeking meaningful Black History Month programming.
