News

A Freetown Community History Day will be held at the Freetown Improvement Association, 7825 Freetown Road in Glen Burnie, MD. This full-day event will occur on Saturday, October 18, 2014, from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

This event will capture and archive the history of a long-standing community. Oral and video interviews will be used to uncover how the community was created and how it was established in a geographical area that had a major impact on African Americans in Northern Anne Arundel County. Scores of documents and memorabilia that help to tell the Freetown story will be shared and archived.

In addition to oral interviews of long-time residents and the archiving of pictures and memorabilia, the day will be filled with many genealogical exhibits and workshops; including mini round-table sessions that explain how to get started with your family genealogy, how important family records should be maintained in a home environment, as well as census records on the community, and cemetery records. The schedule of individuals for oral interviews is always established in advance of the community history event day, but additional community-knowledgeable interviewees will be added as walk-ins.

The Freetown Community History Day is occurring during the Maryland celebration of the 150th year of its emancipation of slaves. During the fall, numerous emancipation celebration activities are occurring in Anne Arundel County and throughout Maryland. Emancipation for slaves in the state of Maryland occurred on November 1, 1864.

The Community History Day is an ongoing activity sponsored by the Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Foundation, in partnership with a local community to capture and archive the history of historically significant communities.