Concerned Black American Citizens, Inc

Concerned Black American Citizens, Inc. (CBAC) is a descendant-led nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing recognition, restoration, and self-determination for Freedmen families—the descendants of emancipated American chattel slaves.

Founded in 2019, CBAC was created from a belief that the communities most affected by historical exclusion must have the opportunity to participate in designing, implementing, and governing the solutions intended to benefit them. Our work is rooted in the understanding that lasting progress requires more than advocacy alone—it requires institutions, leadership, resources, and community ownership.

Since our founding, CBAC has evolved from a grassroots advocacy organization into a trusted nonprofit partner providing grant administration, fiscal sponsorship, technical assistance, leadership development, and community-based programming. Throughout that evolution, our commitment has remained the same: helping communities access opportunities, strengthen organizational capacity, preserve heritage, and build lasting prosperity for future generations.

Today, CBAC works at the intersection of heritage preservation, community development, workforce advancement, and civic engagement. Through advocacy, grant administration, fiscal sponsorship, technical assistance, and educational programming, we help individuals and organizations access resources, strengthen capacity, and create lasting community impact. 

We are proud to announce the opening of the Center for Freedmen Heritage & Records in February 2026, the first of its kinds institution since Reconstruction where families can reconnect and reclaim legacy.

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release  

Juneteenth 2026

CBAC Announces Soft Opening of the Center for Freedmen Heritage & Records and Launch of the “Reclaiming Our Legacy” Initiative

Durham, NC — On Juneteenth 2026, Concerned Black American Citizens, Inc (CBAC) proudly announces the official soft opening of the Center for Freedmen Heritage & Records, the first permanent institution dedicated to continuing the interrupted federal and community work of documenting the lineage, status, and lived history of American Freedmen, the descendants of U.S. chattel slavery.

The Center will house the nation’s first genealogy lab dedicated to Freedmen Lineage Research & Documentation—a research-driven environment where Freedmen descendants can reconstruct disrupted lineages, recover family records, and formally document their historical and political status. This work seeks to restore a critical infrastructure of family and community record-keeping that was disrupted by slavery, displacement, segregation, and the dismantling of institutions that once helped Freedmen families establish legal identity, kinship ties, and community continuity.

As part of the opening, CBAC is launching Reclaiming Our Legacy, a five-year initiative to identify and document 500 Freedmen families. Through targeted community programming, public calls to action, genealogy training, and a structured process of documentation and verification, the initiative will help descendants recover not only names and records, but the networks of family, memory, and historical continuity that have always been the foundation of strong communities.

“Juneteenth is a day of liberation, but it is also a day of restoration,” said CBAC leadership. “The denial of our ancestors’ ability to fully secure land, capital, records, and institutions created wounds that extended beyond a single generation. This Center represents a permanent commitment to restoring what was interrupted—the knowledge of who we are, where we come from, and the family and community systems necessary to preserve our legacy for those yet to come.”

The Center for Freedmen Heritage & Records will serve as a hub for genealogy, historical research, economic education, and community institution-building. Its mission is not only to preserve the past, but to help rebuild the foundations of intergenerational continuity—family records, cultural knowledge, economic literacy, and collective capacity. Accurate lineage documentation is the beginning of a larger process of restoration: transforming historical memory into identity, continuity, and the ability of future generations to inherit both knowledge and opportunity.

CBAC invites the public to join us for a Reclaiming Our Legacy Reception celebrating the softopening of the Center for Freedmen Heritage & Records on Saturday, June 20, from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Community members, descendants, researchers, supporters, and allies are welcome to gather as we honor our ancestors, celebrate the preservation of our shared history, and take part in the collective work of restoring the records, institutions, and legacy that will serve future generations. 

The Center’s grand opening and full public programming schedule will be announced later this year.

Media Contact:  

Concerned Black American Citizens, Inc (CBAC)

Email: DawnPaige@cbacusa.org

Phone: 919-244-7064