Created in 2018, the Houston Freedmen’s Town Conservancy, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, aims to protect and preserve the history of Freedmen’s Town for the benefit of future generations. The Conservancy’s role is to “Tell the Story of Freedom” by educating and engaging visitors through heritage tourism from around the world about the unique and revelatory history of this largely untold chapter of Houston’s and America’s past.

Through its partnerships and stewardship, Houston Freedmen’s Town Conservancy serves as a leading advocate for the Freedmen’s Town community. These partners run the gamut from small, grassroots organizations and local governmental entities all the way to international institutions. Its efforts have already borne fruit: the designation of Freedmen’s Town as Houston’s first Heritage District; the feasibility insights gained by the commencement of the Emancipation National Historic Trail Study; and the reconciliation of historical research that accompanied the addition of five sites in Freedmen’s Town to the UNESCO Routes of the Enslaved Peoples Project. The vision of the Houston Freedmen’s Town Conservancy is to have global recognition of historic Freedmen’s Town as the heritage district that transforms our understanding of emancipation to be the story of freedom. This once-overlooked place embodies human triumph over brutality, adversity, and oppression.