What's a Planner-vationist? Work @ the nexus of planning, preservation, & social change

I've spoken to people over the last few days about my dissertation and The Texas Freedom Colonies Project which are really the same thing. They assume I am a historian. I'm not really. I look at how memory can be used to serve justice even when history lies or forgets. I focus on bottom up planning among descendants of former slaves that founded more than 500 settlements in Texas. I look at how they use memories, rituals, celebrations, foodways, and other cultural practices to preserve largely invisible, yet valuable places endangered by overdevelopment and lack of access to resources. These are innovative planners that can inform models that can aid other settlements. Here's what I'm doing:

• Recording Deep East Texas settlements descendants’ memories, stories of how these communities were founded and built as well as their contributions to planning history & practice
• Learning about present-day community development & historic preservation best practices and challenges from descendants’ of Deep East Texas settlements (Newton, Jasper, Tyler counties)
• Determining ways descendants can gain access to planning & preservation resources and each other through community forums, symposiums, and speaking engagements
• Learning how a new diaspora of descendants to organize and plan as recognized "places" regardless of population.

Please follow the FB page and the web site:https://www.thetexasfreedomcoloniesproject.com

Also join us at an upcoming gathering of Freedom Colony descendants at the Texas Purple Hull Pea Festival June 27 in at Historic Mt Zion CME Church - Shankleville,Texas It will be a fun exploration of Southeast Texas and Louisiana foodways in a historic African American settlement. Contact me if you want to get involved in the study or upcoming events.