Historic bricks representing Freedmen’s Town in Houston were recently damaged in a construction project, leading archaeologists to dig up the blocks for safekeeping.
Formerly enslaved people initially founded Freedmen’s Town after gaining freedom from emancipation. However, some bricks memorializing this history were damaged during a street improvement project in the Texas city.
While organizers for Houston Freedmen’s Town Conservancy believe that the damage happened unintentionally by the contractor, the need to preserve this history better still persists. Sharon Fletcher, executive director of the conservancy, referenced the “current climate” of U.S. politics as an even greater reason to protect such artifacts.
“These are the assets of our ancestors, and we don’t want to lose them, especially given the current climate and things we face in terms of erasure relative to African American history,” stated Fletcher to CHRON.
Fletcher seemingly pointed to the government’s attacks on African American history museums and teachings in public schools, with Trump recently calling out the Smithsonian Institute for “improper ideology.”
The bricks physically embody the enslaved people who worked to build this Freedmen’s Town in Houston following the Civil War. The damage is especially concerning as Juneteenth nears, given the town’s founding days after the holiday’s official start of June 19, 1865.
The damage only stopped due to the interference of Freedmen’s Town Preservation Coalition member Charonda Johnson. Johnson brought up the issue as a “district emergency” during the city council public comment session.
“The bricks are not just a symbol of the community, Freedmen’s Town, but they’re a lasting legacy of the hard work and ingenuity of the founders of this community,” said Joseph Panzarella, a fellow community organizer alongside Johnson. “When we disrupt the bricks, we’re showing that we don’t appreciate our history or the people who built it.
The incident occurred notably when officials were unaware of the construction. Houston City Council member Abbie Kamin said this prohibited them from ensuring the proper measures were in place to protect the bricks.
“For this to happen weeks before Juneteenth is even more discouraging,” Panzarella added. “We’re going to be celebrating the 160th anniversary of the event that spurred the founding of this community, and we should be doing all we can to protect one of the key symbols of said community.”
Security guards will now survey the area to ensure no further damage occurs, with archaeologists keeping the bricks in a storage facility. Plans to return the bricks will happen by 2028.
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