Freedmen News

Reparations fail without infrastructure. FRFT exists to ensure that reparations do not fail. The Core Reality (Stated Plainly) Reparations are not stalled because of a lack of moral agreement. They are stalled because the United States has never built an institution to administer them. No eligibility administrator. No verification authority. No protected registry. No fraud prevention system. No payout-ready structure. FRFT exists to fill that institutional void. Reparations A

Beginning your genealogy research can feel confusing, overwhelming, or even intimidating — especially when you don’t know which records matter or where to start. That is exactly why the Self-Help Genealogy Tools page exists: to walk you through the process step by step and make the beginning of your journey clear and achievable. The Self-Help Genealogy Tools page is structured to give you practical guidance at every stage. It starts with the basics — like gathering what you a

Since our October 2025 transparency release, the American Freedmen Legal Fund (AFLF) has continued operating at full capacity, providing Legal Advocacy actions on behalf of Verified Freedmen beneficiaries and advancing enforceable accountability before any court involvement. We are releasing the January Transparency & Impact Report, which documents the scope of work completed from June 2024 through January, including updated activity counts, cumulative hours, engagement work,

A persistent misunderstanding claims that Freedmen was a temporary condition that ended at emancipation and expired with those who were formerly enslaved. This view misrepresents both history and law. Freedmen is status-based, not lineage-based — and status does not disappear simply because time passes. Legal status requires administration, oversight, and enforcement. That was true in the nineteenth century, and it remains true today. Status Is a Legal Classification Created

Across the country, Verified Freedmen families are encountering harmful legislation, school policies, and medical procedures that strip away parental rights and expose children to irreversible decisions without proper oversight. In direct response, the Freedmen Reparations Fund Trust has launched the Verified Freedmen Parental Rights & Child Protection Program—a trust-based legal tool to restore and enforce family authority. You can read the official announcement and search f

A New Chapter in Our Control Over Education The Freedmen Reparations Fund Trust (FRFT) has reached a major milestone—our first official review of a U.S. school district’s curriculum. This marks the beginning of Verified Freedmen taking back control over how our identity, our history, and our children’s education are defined and delivered. For far too long, external institutions have told our story for us. Now, under the governance of the Trust, that era is ending. Why the Tru

Understanding the Difference — and the Risk Within the Freedmen Reparations Fund Trust (FRFT), verification is not a label. It is a legal position. Many people confuse lineage verification with status verification, assuming they offer the same protection or carry the same weight. They do not. Understanding the distinction is critical—especially for those seeking long-term protection, eligibility, and institutional continuity. This blog explains the difference, the risks invol

Systems Make Reparations Possible — and Sustain Them Reparations have never been paid in isolation. Historically, reparations succeed only when government payment is paired with a supported system that defines eligibility, verifies beneficiaries, and administers distribution. This is not a theoretical framework — it is how reparations have actually been implemented, including by the United States. What is often left out of the conversation is a second historical truth: many p

Today is January 1. While many people recognize this date as New Year’s Day, it also holds deep historical meaning in the story of emancipation in the United States. On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. This executive order declared that enslaved people held in Confederate-controlled states were legally free. While it did not immediately free every enslaved person, it fundamentally altered the legal status of slavery and reshaped

The American Freedmen Legal Fund (AFLF) has completed an enforcement action that resulted in the takedown and restriction of a website that was using the protected designation SOULAAN without authorization. The website presented SOULAAN as a race-based or African Diaspora identity and incorporated the designation into monetized content. This framing was unauthorized and materially inconsistent with the legal status, governance, and cultural protections that govern SOULAAN. SO

One of the most persistent misunderstandings in the reparations conversation is the belief that reparations are either symbolic, limited to community grants, or incompatible with individual beneficiaries receiving direct compensation. This confusion exists largely because most reparations efforts lack a legally durable institution capable of administering reparations at scale. The Freedmen Reparations Fund Trust exists to solve that problem. Reparations Require Administration

There is no need to debate identity in online spaces, argue over who qualifies, or engage in race-based frameworks that invite litigation. The Trust operates on a race-neutral, status-based structure designed to withstand legal challenge. It formally administers status, establishes a defined beneficiary class, and provides an enforceable framework for reparations delivery. This is the foundation the reparations movement has been missing. Those actively working in reparations

Beginning in 2026, the Freedmen Reparations Fund Trust (FRFT) will formally launch two structured participation pathways designed to support Verified Freedmen Beneficiaries in protecting assets, maintaining continuity, and preparing for long-term generational stability—without forcing a single solution on everyone. These programs were created in response to one simple reality: not every beneficiary is ready, willing, or able to navigate private trust creation immediately, yet

There has been ongoing confusion and, in some cases, misinformation about whether people are charged to participate in this work. This clarification is necessary and definitive: The Trust, the Freedmen Nation PMA, and the Beneficiary framework do not charge anything. Beneficiaries Are Never Charged Individuals recognized or protected as Beneficiaries under the Freedmen Reparations Fund Trust are never charged to: Be named or recognized as a Beneficiary Maintain Beneficiary st

Farms are rarely lost through paperwork alone. They are worn down at the borders —through repeated trespass, fence interference, access obstruction, and intimidation that slowly erodes control of the land. For both large working farms and smaller agricultural properties, border protection is the real battleground. The Freedmen Reparations Fund Trust  (FRFT) was structured to address this reality with a lawful, supplemental protection framework that combines boundary definitio

The Freedmen Reparations Fund Trust was created to operate with clarity, discipline, and long-term protection for Verified Freedmen. As the Trust grows, so do the responsibilities that come with managing revenue, programs, and participant-based economic activity. One of the most important structural decisions made by the Trust was the adoption of a Subchapter T tax framework—not as a change in identity, but as a safeguard. This decision was intentional, measured, and rooted i

The Soulaan structure was not formed as a trend, a movement, or a public-facing organization. It was established deliberately under private trust law to protect a people-based classification, preserve authorship, and prevent misclassification or external capture. At the center of this structure is Dwayne Coleman II, recognized as the originator and People-holder of the Soulaan classification. Why Trust Law Was Used Trust law was selected because it provides something most pub

Beginning in 2026, the Freedmen Reparations Fund Trust (FRFT) will launch the Freedmen Historical Marker Program—a national effort created for the past and the present of our Verified Freedmen. This program is not only about remembering where our ancestors stood. It is about affirming where Verified Freedmen stand today—with continuity, documentation, and public recognition rooted in truth. Past: Restoring What Was Interrupted Across the United States, Freedmen communities bu

Men and women who served in the United States Armed Forces understand duty, structure, and sacrifice. Military service is built on clear records, verified identity, and lawful standing. These same principles are at the core of Freedmen Nation. For U.S. Military Veterans who are Descendants of American Slaves™, joining Freedmen Nation is not about symbolism. It is about status protection, historical accuracy, and lawful support—backed by governance, verification, and legal adv

The public discussion around “Freedmen” has long suffered from a fundamental weakness: vagueness. The term is invoked as history, identity, or moral claim, but rarely as a legally operable status . That gap has prevented enforceability, continuity, and accountability. The Freedmen Reparations Fund Trust resolves this problem by doing something materially different. It does not rely on narrative recognition. It establishes status —specifically, Beneficiary Status under trust