“Freedom Park: The Inspiring Story of How a Monument to Freedom is Built while Confederate Statues are Coming Down”. In 2001, the Paul Green Foundation initiated a tribute to the African American struggle for freedom in this state. Although it took twenty years of planning and fundraising, the ground was broken in 2021 in the center of Raleigh for North Carolina Freedom Park. Designed by the late Phil Freelon (lead architect of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington), the Park will provide a more complete story of North Carolina’s history to the visitors and especially for the thousands of school children who annually come by buses from across the state as part of their 4th and 8th grade study of North Carolina history. While statues to Confederate soldiers and white supremacists are coming down, this monument project is, in the words of Dr. John Hope Franklin, “…a continuing reminder of…how much more we need to do to achieve equity and justice in our society.” Ribbon cutting will be in late 2022.

Part 1 features poet Marsha Warren, the 2018 NC Literary Hall of Fame inductee who established the N.C. Literary Hall of Fame (with Poet Laureate Sam Ragan), and the1991 recipient of the Sam Ragan Award for Contributions to the Fine Arts.

Parts 2 and 3 in the series will be held:
Sunday, February 13, 2022, at 3:00PM with speaker Dr. Reginald Hildebrand, author and former co-chair of the North Carolina Freedom Monument Project, and former Professor of African American Studies and History at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts and at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Sunday, March 13, 2022, at 3:00 PM with speaker Reginald Hodges, a member of the North Carolina Freedom Park board of directors, and former Executive Director of the Durham Literacy Center, 2004-2014. Reception immediately following with a meet and greet with the presenter.

All lectures start at 2PM. Doors open at 1:30.

To purchase tickets CLICK HERE.