With racism and police brutality still permeating intensely in American cities, 19 Black families have decided instead of trying to fix a broken system, they’ll build a new one from scratch.
Officially known as The Freedom Georgia Initiative, the collective formed a limited-liability corporation (LLC) and bought 96.71 acres of land in Toomsboro, Georgia.
After the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, they started firming up a plan build their very own city where they could be safe from harm.
The brainchild of realtor Ashley Scott and investor Renne Walters, the initiative is encouraging Black families to get involved and build their own 21st century Black Wall Streets.
“Amass land, develop affordable housing for yourself, build your own food systems, build manufacturing and supply chains, build your own home school communities, build your own banks and credit unions, build your own cities, build your own police departments, tax yourselves and vote in a mayor and a city council you can trust,” Scott wrote. “Build it from scratch! Then go get all the money the United States of America has available for government entities and get them bonds. This is how we build our new Black Wall Streets. We can do this. We can have Wakanda! We just have to build it for ourselves!”
In an op-ed published in Blavity, Scott – who is also a wife and mother –explained their reasoning for making the drastic move.
“It was clear to me that developing new cities was necessary because these old ones, even with strong Black leadership, have too many deep-rooted problems,” she wrote.
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The group is encouraging other Black people to get involved or support them. Regular updates are provided on their Facebook page; and they are hosting “The Big Black Campout” Sept. 4-6 to start a “new tradition” to bring Black families together on their private Black-owned land.
“Sign-up and make a $9/mo tax-deductible donation to the Black Achievement Fund and tell them the Freedom Georgia Initiative sent you,” the initiative responded to a user asking how they could get involved. “You’ll get updates, meeting announcements, opportunities to serve, and be the first to know when we have more plots of land for sale.”
