Freedmen News

Public debates about identity often overlook one crucial reality: every family line has its own documented story , and no single narrative applies to all descendants of U.S. chattel slavery. Too many conversations rely on assumptions, not records. That’s why genealogy — real document-based genealogy — is the foundation of accurate verification. One of the most common misconceptions is the claim that “being enslaved means you must be from Africa.” That idea collapses instantly

The Freedmen Reparations Fund Trust (FRFT) has finalized an important advancement in lineage protection with the completion of Amendment No. 1 to the Soulaan Status-Based Trademark License Agreement. This amendment reinforces the legal and commercial framework surrounding Soulaan as a verified, status-based classification rooted in autochthonous U.S. lineage. This development reflects months of careful coordination between FRFT and Dwayne Coleman II — the official Trademar

A Freedmen Reparations Fund Trust Educational Case Study In many families, the first sign that old land still exists comes from something small — a tax notice, a deed fragment, or, in this case, a letter from 1980 discussing mineral rights under a property no one could locate. For more than 40 years, the family didn’t know: Where the land was located Who the current listed owner was Whether the property still existed at all Why a mineral rights company contacted them in the f