The Bastrop County African American Cultural Center’s fundraising drive is underway! Please join us in helping the BCAACC reach its goal of creating a permanent facility to house Bastrop County’s African American treasured artifacts, history and rich culture. The Bastrop County African American Cultural Center and Freedom Colonies Museum is located in the Kerr-Wilson house which is a part of the historically significant Kerr compound in Bastrop, Texas. The original owners, the Kerrs, exemplified the excellence, determination and grit it took in helping to found and create one of the many thriving Freedom Colonies that once existed throughout Bastrop County.
The Texas Historical Commission’s Real Places 2025 conference will take place both virtually and in person, in Austin, April 23–25. Presented by the Friends of the Texas Historical Commission in partnership with Phoenix I Restoration and Construction, LLC, Real Places is the premier historic preservation and heritage tourism event in the Lone Star State, where anyone interested in protecting our past can work directly with industry-leading experts to learn practical, actionable solutions they can apply in their community.
The packed schedule features more than 50 workshops, tours, and sessions; over 100 expert speakers from across Texas and the U.S.; several keynote presentations; and a number of fun networking events. Recordings will be available to all attendees, whether joining online or in person, so you’ll be able to watch the great presentations you missed due to concurrent sessions.
Save up to $120 with regular registration pricing through March 21. Additional discounts are available for students and organizations registering multiple people at the same time.
Learn more and sign up at realplaces.us
The Bastrop County African American Cultural Center idea started as a “mustard seed” in the minds of the Board of Directors in 2019 one year before the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. These early founders’ goal was to build an African American Cultural Center in Bastrop, Texas. Those in attendance were descendants of the original 13 Freedom Colonies of Bastrop County Texas along with interested parties. The purpose then and now is to bring about cultural awareness of minorities and specifically the contributions of African Americans to the history of the United States of America.
In the minds of those original participants with the “mustard seed” idea continues to be to bring cultures together. The Bastrop County African American Cultural Center will focus on the diverse contributions of peoples of color to the history of the United States. The cultural center will teach others of the rich history of African Americans and their relationship with other cultures. It is intended to be a harbinger of cultural artifacts, history, black art, and futurist ideas that are inclusive of all cultures working together in harmony. The goal is to increase cultural awareness that promote a better understanding of African Americans and other cultures. The cultural center plans to achieve its goal through teaching, training, showcasing, inclusiveness, uniting all cultures through harmonious relationships and coalitions, mutual respect, and appreciation. Most of the original Founders descend from the 13 Freedom Colonies in Bastrop, Texas. It should not go without mention that there are many more than the original 13 Freedom Colonies in Bastrop County but most of the Founders of the Bastrop County African American Cultural Center descend from or currently reside in several freedom colonies in Bastrop and surrounding counties.
Freedom Colonies arose in the South after the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 that freed all slaves in the United States. Texas is uniquely different than other southern states because slaves in Texas did not receive word of the Emancipation Proclamation until June 19, 1865, commonly observed in Texas as “Juneteenth” or “Emancipation Day”! These freed ex-slaves had no place to go because they had lived on the plantation since before Emancipation.
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