Agreement Reached: I Am Soca Agrees to Acknowledge July 5 Emancipation History and American Freedmen Rodeo Legacy

The Freedmen Reparations Fund Trust has received a written response from the I Am Soca team regarding FRFT’s formal complaint and request for cultural remediation connected to the promoted “I Am Soca – Soca Rodeo” event scheduled for July 5, 2026, in Brooklyn, New York.

FRFT submitted the complaint because the event used rodeo, cowboy/cowgirl, western, and two-step branding on a date that carries historical significance in New York’s emancipation history, without visible public acknowledgment of American Freedmen history or the Freedmen cowboy and rodeo legacy.

This matter was never about attacking Soca, Caribbean culture, or the right of any community to celebrate. FRFT’s concern was specific: when an event uses cultural themes tied to American cowboy and rodeo history on July 5 in New York, proper historical context and acknowledgment should be included.

I Am Soca Agrees to Cultural Acknowledgment

In its written response, the I Am Soca team accepted FRFT’s request for cultural acknowledgment and stated that it will take steps to include historical context regarding July 5, 1827, New York emancipation history, and the Black American cowboy legacy.

The I Am Soca team stated that it will:

Add historical context regarding July 5, 1827, and Black American cowboy legacy to the I Am Soca – Soca Rodeo webpage.

Add similar historical context to the I Am Soca Instagram.

Make a public announcement at the event honoring Foundational Black American contributions to rodeo.

Welcome verified FRFT members to participate.

FRFT recognizes this as a meaningful step toward cultural remediation, historical accuracy, and respectful cooperation.

Why July 5 Matters

New York’s emancipation history carries deep meaning for American Freedmen and their Successors. Slavery legally ended in New York in 1827, and July 5 became a powerful date of Freedmen freedom observance because many Freedmen New Yorkers refused to place their freedom celebration inside a July 4 narrative that had excluded them for generations.

For that reason, July 5 is not just another calendar date. It is part of a historic freedom memory connected to New York’s enslave emancipation history.

When a commercial event uses rodeo and western cultural themes on July 5 in New York, FRFT believes that the historical record should be respected and the public should be educated.

Black American Cowboy and Rodeo History Must Be Credited

Freedmen cowboys, cowgirls, riders, ranch workers, and rodeo innovators helped shape American cowboy and rodeo culture. Their labor, skill, creativity, and traditions have often been minimized or erased in mainstream presentations of western history.

FRFT’s position is simple: cultural celebration should not erase the people whose history helped build the traditions being used.

Acknowledgment is not disruption.

Education is not an attack.

Historical credit is not division.

It is correction.

Professional Engagement Works

This outcome shows the importance of documented, professional institutional engagement. FRFT filed a formal complaint, communicated directly with the organizers, held a phone discussion, and requested a practical path forward.

The goal was not to stop the event. The goal was to ensure that the event moves forward with proper acknowledgment, accurate historical context, and respect for the communities whose history is connected to the themes being promoted.

FRFT will continue to monitor the implementation of the agreed acknowledgment language and will continue working to ensure that Freedmen history is preserved, documented, and respected.

FRFT’s Position

FRFT supports peaceful, lawful, and professional engagement only.

FRFT does not encourage harassment, threats, xenophobic conduct, disruption, or unlawful activity. This matter should remain focused on historical truth, cultural accuracy, and respectful community engagement.

An agreement has been made to move forward cooperatively. FRFT will continue documenting the record and working to ensure that July 5 New York emancipation history and Black American cowboy and rodeo contributions receive proper public recognition.

Support the Work

The Freedmen Reparations Fund Trust, American Freedmen Legal Fund, and Freedmen Nation will continue preserving evidence, protecting Freedmen history, and advancing verified status-based historical recognition.