FRFT and Dwayne Coleman II Sign the SOULAAN Status-Based Protection & Trademark License Agreement
- Freedmen Nation
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
The Freedmen Reparations Fund Trust (FRFT) has officially executed the SOULAAN Status-Based Cultural Protection & Trademark License Agreement with Mr. Dwayne Coleman II, the verified owner of the SOULAAN service mark (USPTO Serial No. 98720373). The agreement was fully signed and notarized, and it now stands as a binding lineage-governed instrument recorded in the FRFT Legal & Cultural Registry.
A Landmark for Status-Based Governance
This signing marks a major step forward in the protection of status-based identities within the broader Freedmen governance framework.
The SOULAAN designation represents a verified autochthonous lineage — a cultural and ancestral framework rooted in the descendants of the enslaved and self-liberated people of the United States. By entering this agreement, Mr. Coleman and the Trust have affirmed that SOULAAN will be protected and recognized under lawful, private trust authority.
The Freedmen Reparations Fund Trust will oversee SOULAAN’s preservation under its legal protection system, ensuring that it remains aligned with verified status-based governance principles and immune from external mimicry, dilution, or redefinition by unverified entities, NGOs, or Pan-African intermediaries.
Unified Protection Under the Trust and the American Freedmen Legal Fund
Under this new structure, both the Freedmen Reparations Fund Trust (FRFT) and the American Freedmen Legal Fund (AFLF) will safeguard SOULAAN as a verified lineage framework.
The FRFT provides the legal jurisdiction and fiduciary protection mechanism — ensuring that the name, status, and governance language of SOULAAN are maintained within the boundaries of verified Freedmen classification and protected under private trust law.
The American Freedmen Legal Fund will serve as the enforcement arm, monitoring for infringements, cultural misuse, or deceptive misrepresentation of the SOULAAN identity. The AFLF is authorized to issue legal correspondence, takedown notices, and advisories when violations arise, ensuring that all use of the SOULAAN designation adheres to verified lineage authority.
Together, FRFT and AFLF will apply a dual protection model:
FRFT anchors the trust-level legal recognition and documentation, ensuring compliance with cultural and jurisdictional law.
AFLF executes enforcement and compliance actions across public and commercial domains, securing recognition of SOULAAN as a protected, status-based lineage identity.
This model creates the first unified trust-to-legal defense mechanism within the Freedmen governance system — bridging cultural protection, legal advocacy, and public enforcement under a single, verified structure.
Why This Matters
The signing of this agreement demonstrates how verified lineage law and private trust governance can coexist to protect emerging status-based frameworks like SOULAAN. It sends a clear message: authentic lineage identities, verified through record and trust governance, will not be redefined, diluted, or repackaged through external classification systems.
The protection of SOULAAN reinforces the principle that cultural and status-based sovereignty originates from verified lineage — not political affiliation or ethnic rebranding.
The FRFT and AFLF will continue to defend SOULAAN and all verified Freedmen designations against unauthorized commercial, academic, or institutional usage that seeks to reinterpret or exploit lineage-based frameworks.
Official Record
The executed and notarized SOULAAN Status-Based Cultural Protection & Trademark License Agreement is now preserved within the FRFT Legal & Cultural Archive and will guide future cooperation between the Trust and verified Freedmen lineages. It stands as a binding precedent for how status-based cultural property and lineage designations will be recognized, licensed, and protected under the Freedmen Reparations Fund Trust and the American Freedmen Legal Fund moving forward.
This signing reaffirms the commitment of both institutions to uphold the sovereignty, dignity, and legal continuity of verified Freedmen lineages — ensuring that each protected framework, from SOULAAN to future verified cultural systems, remains governed by those to whom the lineage rightfully belongs.