Reclaiming the Right to Define Ourselves: The Declaration of Cultural Sovereignty for Freedmen
- Arthur Watkins Jr.
- Mar 26
- 1 min read
On March 25, 2025, a powerful step was taken to protect and uplift the unique identity of Freedmen. The Declaration of Cultural Sovereignty for Freedmen was issued to formally assert that Freedmen are not just descendants of U.S. chattel slavery—but a distinct cultural people with our own history, values, and legacy.
For too long, our culture has been folded into broader racial or immigrant categories that erase the Freedmen experience. This declaration draws a clear line: our music, language, foodways, faith, resistance, and social institutions are ours to define and defend.
It establishes:
• Our right to protect and preserve Freedmen heritage.
• Our authority to lead all cultural conversations about Freedmen history.
• A rejection of any outside group or system attempting to redefine who we are.
This isn’t about exclusion. It’s about self-determination—something our ancestors were denied, and something we reclaim now through legal structure and collective purpose.
Read the full Declaration here:
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