- Black cities in America have not fared well over the last 400 years, there are countless examples of black towns being decimated from angry white mobs.

In Atlanta in 1906, a town was decimated.

People were run out of the city due to a sexual allegation of a black man towards a white woman.

The true underlying cause was a rapidly changing city and economy competition for jobs, housing and political power.

Another example is Seneca Village, now known as Central Park, was a thriving black and Irish community that was taken by the state of New York.

Families were displaced and not compensated for their land.

Another example is Black Wall Street in Tulsa.

In 1921 was one of the most prosperous black communities in the country.

It was torn down, burned, and hundreds were killed, displaced and buried in mass graves again.

1923.

Rosewood, Florida, a prosperous community destroyed and people killed and displaced.

Oscarville, Georgia, where 1,100 black residents were driven out of Forsyth County.

Land was taken and legacies loss.

The predominantly black town of Oscarville was racially cleansed.

And for 80 years, Forsyth County was a de facto white community only, triggered again by the accusation of rape by a white woman who was found in bed with a black man.

White mobs bore down on Oscarville, burning churches, shooting livestock and terrorizing residents.

Black folks fled the town in fear.

It is now buried under the infamous Lake Lanier.

There are many accounts where people were killed, lynched and made a public spectacle of causing significant trauma and the black community.

However, today there is a group of black families who have come together to build a community in Georgia called Freedom Georgia.

Joining me today to talk about Freedom Georgia are Laura Riley Cooper, the CEO, Renee Walters president, and Dr. Tabitha Ball Mullins, the managing partner.

Hello, I'm Pastor Phil Davis, the host of Courageous Conversations.

Don't go Anywhere.

Let's meet these pioneers from Freedom Georgia.

Well, ladies, thank you so much for taking the time to come on the show today.

I said earlier, I've just been so excited to talk to you pioneers for doing something that is so amazing.

So I'd like to welcome you, Laura, Renee and Dr. Tabitha all to the show.

And I want to jump right in because our time is limited.

But so, Laura, you serve as the CEO.

Your website says that this vision was birthed out of an extreme sense of urgency.

Can you kind of talk and share with our folks about what was that sense of urgency and what drove you all to begin this journey?

- Absolutely, as we observe everything over the last few years that have been happening in the black community with the police and different people such as George Floyd and Brianna Taylor, during that time, we were also in the midst of a pandemic, not knowing what was going to happen with this virus and all these different things that were going on.

It created an unrest.

And my friends, Ashley and Renee, you know, a lot of... Could just tell our energy has shifted.

We're always motivated, excited people.

And we were dealing with depression, looking at the fact of, you know, the same things that were happening to these people could happen to any of us at any time.

So it motivated Ashley and Renee to take charge on a vision that Ashley has had forever with regard to putting together a community of just us, our friends, it motivated Renee, to go and look at a property that had come up for sale, that has gone viral on social media.

And that's what led us to the Freedom Georgia initiative.

- That's so exciting because, you know, I think that a lot of times when we see the things that are happening in our community.

Right, the death of George Floyd, the public murder, I call it the public lynching of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and so many others that led up to that many times we'd like to take action, but you all really begin the process and really get out there and are getting it done.

I was so amazed when I seen on LinkedIn, on Facebook, and I wanted to reach out to you all to really understand, you know, the drive behind what you all are doing now.

Now, Renee, you serve as the president of the initiative.

Talk a little bit about, you know, what you all are hoping to accomplish with Freedom Georgia.

- Well, we are hoping to build a safe haven for people like Laura said, it started in the midst of unrest that we were dealing with, seeing everybody protest, seeing Ahmaud Arbery killed in the streets, seeing George Floyd murdered in the streets.

It did something and we thought it would be advantageous for us to build a safe place.

We're all married to black men, we have black sons and black daughters, black grandsons.

And so we thought it was time for us to move and just build a place where we can come and breathe, be innovative with technology based around mental health and wellness, just a place where our people can thrive and we can create generational wealth for ourselves and our families.

- You know, we're going to be doing a story on Bruce's Beach.

I don't know if you're familiar with that.

This is this is the land that was taken from a family back in the early 1900s, reached out to them.

They're going to they're going to come on the show.

And after almost 100 years, 100-plus years, the state of California decided to give that back to them right after some litigation and communication.

And now they say the value of the land is like $75 million that that has been taken from them.

So you mentioned generational wealth and nobody's really talking about the wealth that has been stolen from our people, you know, over this time and for so long.

So, Dr. Tabitha, you served as the managing partner, if I'm not mistaken.

Talk a little bit about your role and kind of the legalese behind all that has to happen for this community to actually come online.

- Sure.

So my role as a managing partner for the Freedom Georgia initiative is kind of diffuse.

For one thing.

You know, I'm there as a support to our leadership team.

My side thing is I'm a clinical psychologist, so I definitely add that piece to the group to make sure that we are staying on track with our goals, making sure that we are implementing a useful conflict resolution.

I mean, any group that you have, especially when we're talking about the management coming together and management of 19 families, you know, even though we have the same goal in mind, there are slight variances that that need to be brought in alignment so that we can we can achieve our goals and actualize our vision.

With respect to legalese behind what it is that that we are doing.

We definitely bring in professionals to help us with that.

We currently do not have any legal person on our team working within our collective.

So while we try our best to navigate the legal world, we definitely do rely on professionals to step in and help us with that.

And that is definitely one of the strengths of our collective, the fact that we're very motivated, we're very enthusiastic, but we do know what our limits are and we do know how to reach out to access the resources that we need to ensure our success.

- Wonderful.

Wonderful.

Now, now, Renee, the interesting thing is, you know, I mentioned in the intro of Forsyth County.

Right.

And that for a long time, you know, black folks weren't welcome in Forsyth County.

You know, the 1,100 families and a lot of folks that were driven out of there, the city was decimated and filled over with Lake Lanier, which has got some mystery around.

And people are dying in Lake Lanier like nobody's business.

But do you have any fear of pushback, right, for starting a city such as this and and it being really BIPAC and led and run by by African-Americans from the white community?

- I don't fear any push back, the most that we deal with would be like our Internet trolls and people online that doubt us and think it can't be done.

But the people in the actual town, they're very excited about the things that we are bringing to the county.

We've made relationships with everybody at the county, like our development team, the commissioners.

We've been working together to.

Kind of bridge the gap of whatever Wilkinson County needs, and so we'll be there, like we're not trying to take over.

We just want to come and add to what they're already doing.

And so we've been talking to everybody that we can to build that relationship, but we won't get a lot of pushback and we do have the support at the county.

So that's been one of our most important things, just building those relationships with our county officials so they can go ahead and push through all of the things that we need to push through to do this city.

- Wonderful.

Laura.

So thank you for that.

Laura.

So who's welcome in Freedom Georgia?

And and is it an exclusive community or is it an inclusive community?

So share a little bit about that, because I know folks are asking, like, is this the same thing as they did, you know, over over in Forsyth County?

Or are you all looking to receive anyone who would like to participate?

We are definitely inclusive, but we take the support of all people that support the African-American diaspora in our community, we don't discriminate.

We love everybody.

We just wanted to have a safe place for ourselves.

And due to the media attention, we saw that this vision was much larger and much bigger than us based on what the universe had in store.

So we are inclusive, but we were not separate ourselves from everybody.

That's not the goal.

- OK, OK. And that's I think that's important for people to know, because I think that it's important for black folks to have our own space.

Right.

A space where we can feel comfortable, where we can feel safe.

So the assumption, Tabitha, is that Dr. Tabitha, is that the community will be BIPAC run.

In other words, your police department, your fire department, your schools and teachers, your elected officials and representatives.

Can you talk a little bit about that and what the vision is for having a BIPAC community and how that will actually impact the whole community?

- Of course, so when starting off with BIPAC leadership across the board, whether that our police department, our city officials, our teachers, then we can develop systems that are in support of us, are in support of our children.

What's happened for far too long in this country is that systems have been put in place without really thinking about the BIPAC community and or actually against the BIPAC community.

And so with us starting off with us in positions of representation, then we can design our system that's going to benefit us and benefit our children and further ensure the success of our community.

- That's exciting.

So you're talking about being intentional, about not only getting to the table, but you all are setting the table up, so often I think what happens is they set the table up and then they invite us after the agenda is set.

So it's not a blank piece of paper is a piece of paper that's been written on all the plans have been made.

And then, by the way, what would you all think about this as opposed to allowing us taking control and being in the forefront of our own destiny, which I think is tremendous.

And so now what will be the population, Laura?

Maybe you can speak to this.

What will be the population?

Are there homes that have been built or where are you all in the process?

- We are in our discovery phase of development.

So we are still studying the land, making strategic decisions about what this is, what this needs to look like, partnering with the right professionals that we need in certain spaces.

And we have not built anything yet, but we do have to have 220.

We have to have 225 residents and 600 acres in order to file for a municipality in Wilkinson County.

So at the minimum, we will have those 225 residents.

- I got to feel that you'll have a whole lot more than that.

I'm trying to figure out how I can get down to Georgia.

Y'all going to have some churches in there, because, you know, we always the churches and synagogues and and temples, whatever your desire is, that's amazing.

Renee, how are you able to find these 19 families and bring these 19 families to a table to make an agreement?

Because, you know, sometimes when our folk get together, you know, we don't find a place... We don't find that place of unity and togetherness.

So how were you able to do that?

How are you able to collaborate and navigate through maybe different visions that that might have come to the table?

- It was mainly about finding the people that were like minded, that think like you, that's on the same same wavelength that had the same goals and values, Ashley.

This is something that Ashley had been talking about for years and she was talking about doing it in Belize.

And so when the post came available, when the post came, went viral about Toomsboro being on sale, I called her and I was like, hey, look, we need to go see what's going on.

So we went down here.

It was overpriced.

So we ended up going to land Ashley picked out because she is a realtor.

And when we got there, I was like, hey, we need to buy this land.

And it would be dope if we was to get our friends and family together.

And I told Ashley, you pick out your ten friends, I'll pick out my ten friends and see what we can put together.

And so we thought about the things that we wanted to have on the land, the people that we needed, the type of people we needed.

And we just went back to the conversations that we were having with our friends before, because I've had this conversation with a few of my friends many years ago.

I think it was 2015, how it would be if we can all, like, build our own neighborhood, live next to each other and just be a family like a village.

And so when the idea came back around, it's 2020.

I just called those same people that we were having those conversations with and Ashley called a few friends that she was having those conversations with.

Ashley and Laura...

The past ten, 11 years.

And we've all done business together, as Dr. Ball was Ashley's clinical psychologist.

So it just seemed right to bring the same people that we deal with on a day to day basis, the same people that think like us, the same people that had the same goals together.

Now, we don't always get along, but we had the tools to figure out how to move these things, like we have Dr. Ball here that helps us with our conflict resolution.

And we all just go back to why we did this in the first place, which was generational wealth and building something for our families.

And so it's easy to say, hey, let's get back on track, because we got one common goal.

But it wasn't that hard to get everybody together.

And that's something that we need to talk about, like breaking the stigma that black people can't work together.

We can, it's just not shown enough.

They so much focus on the negative when you're out in the media that we can't work together, that we can't build things.

But it's so many different communities out here.

We're not the only one.

We are not the first.

We will not be the last.

By us putting it out there is just giving hope to everybody else that, hey, you can do this.

- It really is.

It really is.

We've had conversations and, you know, I think it's really about ownership.

But when you think about the the wealth in the African-American community being one tenth of that in the white community and us, you know, owning less of America than we did when we were slaves or coming right out of slavery in the late 1800s.

The reality is we haven't made progress on a on on a level as a community.

Now there are some who have broken out of the stigma and are doing very well for themselves with advanced degrees and have great jobs.

But the reality is there is still an issue of building generational wealth.

And we know that one of the greatest ways to build wealth in America is through home ownership, through owning land, becoming the developer, and not just a purchaser of that land.

So this is a this is an exciting reality for me.

Now, let me come back to you, Dr. Ball.

From the clinical psychology perspective, what impact do you think that this will have on the psyche of not only the current generation but the generation to come?

- So piggybacking a bit off of what Renee was just talking about with the stigmas that are out there, we as a people have been traumatized for many years and that trauma has borne a lot of ideologies, a lot of ways, ways of thinking, a lot of trust issues.

And so with all the attention that the Freedom Georgia initiative has received and will continue to receive, this is a way to reach a larger audience, to reverse some of those negative stereotypes, to reverse some of the beliefs that I can't or I need to ask permission for or I need to only reach for the lower-hanging fruit because I can't dream big.

This whole initiative was born out of dreams, essentially, and the world is getting an opportunity to watch us step by step very slowly and methodically bring that dream into fruition.

So our people, our community there, they're seeing the blueprint of building something great just unfolding in front of them, unlike, I think in the past with.

Consideration of the successful communities, we kind of read about them after the fact.

This is an opportunity to see a community being built from its inception, you know, through.

So it's not like we're reading about it's not like someone's telling us about it.

We're actually watching it unfold in front of us.

And I think that's going to be very powerful to get to the collective black psyche, not just in this country, but across the diaspora.

- Agreed.

Dr. Joy DeGruy writes a wonderful book, Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome, and she talks about the trauma and the lasting legacy of slavery and the impact that it has had on generations.

And I think this is one of the ways to help counteract that by being self-sufficient.

Right.

And motivated and driven to accomplish and build something that will be sustainable, that all people, because it's not just for our people to see, but it's for the world to be able to see that not only are we capable, but able to accomplish those goals and visions that we set forth.

Laura, now I realize that there was I heard mention of like a $500,000 performance bond.

Can you talk a little bit about that and where you all are in the process of attaining and acquiring that?

- Yes, we are actively talking to investors and different people who believe in the vision.

In an effort to raise our $500,000 performance bond.

What that bond does is allow us to secure the additional capital that we will need to start development.

So we have done a Go Fund Me and we're hoping that our donations continue to come in so that we can get to the point of raising that 400 or 500,000.

Once we do, that will be 90 days from breaking ground.

- That's amazing.

You know, I know that one of the oldest and historic black banks is there in Atlanta, Citizens Bank.

Have there been any strategic partnerships with funding institutions or any any one like that who wants to get behind you?

One United Bank is another black bank that comes to mind.

They're the largest online bank in the country.

We actually had the COO of the bank on the show.

Have there been outreaches to those organizations to try to connect where those resources come from?

- We have established accounts with those banks and we are looking forward to having further conversations, right now we have had a plethora of people contact us with regard to support.

Unfortunately, nothing has completely come through because we are so strategic about who we deal with and bring to this particular whole process.

We have to make sure that whoever we partner with, they have to be like minded.

As Renee said, they have to understand the full goal and the full picture and not have their own agenda because this is much larger, as we always say, than all of us that are involved.

So we are looking forward to building some of those relationships, we have not as of yet.

But since you had the COO of the bank on.

- I'll hook you up.

- Make a connection for us.

- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

And she's a wonderful person.

Not only her, but we know some folks there in the Atlanta region.

And I think that when you begin to talk about this type of initiative and getting behind it, they're pushing home ownership, so forth and so on.

So really, I have a question just came to my mind in regards to housing.

What will it look like?

Are we looking at home ownership or are we looking at mixed use?

Is it going to be apartments as well as single family homes?

What's the plan as far as that's concerned?

- We are looking at single family homes, we are looking at mixed-use areas, we are creating programs for affordable housing.

We want to be innovative and new when it comes to creating programs because programs that we've seen in the past didn't really serve our community.

So we want to make sure that everything that we're building will be beneficial to everyone that is involved in this project and everyone that moves to Freedom Georgia.

We want to make sure that we are creating wealth for our families as well as the newcomers that will be coming into Freedom.

That's a plethora of everything that you could imagine far as housing, tiny homes, will have veterans' villages we will have assisted living, will have retirement centers, just going to just have to stay tuned.

- And, you know, these are the visions of our ancestors in the past who began these processes and projects.

And many of them got them up and running.

But through, you know, a number of reasons, they just did not continue.

And as you heard me mention, the violence that happened within those communities.

But it's a new day, right?

It's a new dawn and it's a different time.

And you all are showing the fortitude and the stamina and the vision and leadership that is necessary to build something that is going to be so sustainable.

And many years down the road, maybe when I retire, I come down into your retirement home.

Me and my wife will come hang out in Freedom Georgia.

But no matter what, I'm coming down.

I was trying to get down there before the show, but I'm just really excited to be able to have a conversation with you all and hopefully enlarge your platform, reach more people, let other people know what you're doing.

So let me just ask, what's the best way to get in contact and is there a difference between donation and investment?

I'm not sure who wants to answer that answer that question, but one of you all can speak to that.

- I'll let our CEO answer that.

- All right.

- Yes, there is definitely a difference between donation, contribution and investment.

The contributions and donations typically come from a 5013C company.

A corporation and they fund through our fiscal partners.

We have a couple of fiscal partners that we partner with that are 5013C established because we are a new company.

We've only been in business a little over a year.

So we have those fiscal partners that those donations and contributions go through.

But we also have different situations like our 11 six acre plots on our generational acres that we are selling right now to select people that want to be investors in the community so that we can start to make sure what that first phase of development is going to look like to kind of set the tone for the full project.

So there are other opportunities of investment and you can make contributions through our Go Fund Me.

And that is attached to our website at www.FreedomGeorgia.com or Freedom Fund 21.

That's how you find us and make your donations.

And then through the website you can reach out to actually be an investor and talk to us further about what the actual project will entail.

- Well, let me just say I'm so I'm so excited about this and count me part of the family.

I may not be there with you all, but I wish you the best.

And surely I want to get down and see what you're doing.

And maybe we'll do a follow up next season to just see how things are going and give updates.

I just want to say thank you for taking the time to be with me today and then also for leading right and serving to create a more sustainable future for our children and for our families on behalf of everyone here at PBS39 I'd like to thank each of you for joining us on Courageous Conversations, and to our viewing audience.

Keep being courageous.

We'll see you soon.