Real estate professional Ashley Scott and entrepreneur Renee Walters have a dream of creating an entire town dedicated to developing an “authentic Black community and culture that feels safe, feels prosperous.” They recently led an effort to recruit 17 other Black families and investors to purchase 97 acres of land in rural Wilkinson County, Ga., to create the Freedom Georgia Initiative.
Scott and Walters are quick to clarify that the land is not just exclusively for Black families. “Pro-Black does not mean anti-white,” Walters told USA Today. “We don’t want people to think that this is segregation … we just want to build a haven where we feel safe.”
Scott told USA Today that she was looking for a way to participate in the national movement against police brutality and systemic racism that could make an impact, but without joining protests to avoid exposing herself and family to COVID-19.
“The foundation of our structure is where the problem is,” Scott told USA Today. “Finding a town, it felt like, ‘OK, this is how you change the foundation of the structure.’ ”
They have big plans for the 97 acres of land, including plans to construct homes, a farm, horse stables, a lake, and tiny house cabins by next spring. They hope the land can become a tourist spot that features a farm-to-table restaurant, an Airbnb experience, amphitheater, and conference center.
Scott and Walters also hope to buy more land to expand the city eventually into one that offers its own municipal services, including law enforcement, a fire department, a hospital, and a school.
Scott told USA Today that it could take three to five years to write a charter and petition to get their city, which they plan to call Freedom, Ga., recognized as an official municipality.
Scott says she hopes they inspire other Black families to build collectives and purchase land while working with real estate experts to do similar projects across the country.
Source: “19 Black Families Bought 97 Acres of Land, and They Want to Turn it Into a City Called Freedom,” USA Today (Oct. 6, 2020)
