black history month
SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS & WORKSHOPS
We offer three 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.
What are Freedom Communities?
Freedom Communities are self-sustaining Black communities formed by formerly enslaved people after emancipation.
After the Civil War, many Black families created their own towns and neighborhoods so they could live freely, own land, educate their children, worship safely, and build economic independence in a society that often denied them those rights. These communities were built through cooperation, resilience, and shared responsibility.
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: Telling Our Stories - Storytelling as Preservation Workshop
This workshop explores how storytelling can protect culture, memory, and identity, especially within Freedom and historically Black communities in Austin, Texas. Participants will learn how to access and interpret “the living archive,” conduct ethical research, build trust with descendants, and gather archival materials that honor real lived experiences.
Through practical tools and examples, we’ll show how to transform research into powerful stories using art, literature, film, exhibitions, and community engagement. Ideal for schools, arts organizations, educators, and teams looking to strengthen their storytelling, documentation, or community-centered creative practices.
OPTION 3: 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.
