A series of virtual presentations on three 19th-century free Black communities in the New York region.
The series accompanies the excavation of archaeological sites located on the grounds of the Meeting House in Rye, NY, carried out from July 25 to August 3, 2022. The former buildings on these sites were once owned by William Voris, an African American entrepreneur in the 19th-century.
For the series' final talk, Maisa Tisdale, President and CEO of The Mary & Eliza Freeman Center for History and Community, will share the story of Little Liberia and the ongoing efforts to revitalize the South End community. Little Liberia was a seafaring community of free African-Americans and Paugussett Indians in Bridgeport, Connecticut. In fact, Lewis Latimer's family had originally settled in Little Liberia after the Civil War, and his brother owned a barbershop then. Of about 36 structures that comprised Little Liberia, only the Freeman Houses survive on original foundations. Mary Freeman (1815–1883) and Eliza Freeman (1805-1862) were accomplished business women. The Freeman Houses are listed on the National Register of Historic Places for their significance to African Americans and Women."
Audience:
Adults
About the Speaker:
Maisa L. Tisdale has advocated for the preservation of the Mary & Eliza Freeman Houses since 1994, and founded the Mary & Eliza Freeman Center for History and Community in 2009 after coordinating a successful movement to save the homes from demolition. Ms. Tisdale led the Freeman Center as a volunteer until 2019 when she became the Freeman Center’s first professional staff member. Over the past ten years Ms. Tisdale not only focused on the restoration of the Freeman houses, but has worked to create a safer and healthier “built” environment in Bridgeport’s South End – focusing on historic preservation, community development, and climate change.
Maisa Tisdale was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Her parents, James and Loyse Tisdale, were educators and civil rights activists. Their dedication to civil and human rights – and love of history - remain Ms. Tisdale’s strongest influences. She also studied African and African American arts and culture in Bridgeport at Youthbridge, Inc: A Theatrical Arts Workshop from the age of 10 through her early college years. Six generations of Maisa Tisdale's family were born or have lived in Bridgeport.
Ms. Tisdale strengthened her background in African American Studies during her undergraduate years at Yale University, where she earned a BA in Asian Studies. She also studied sociology and history as a postgraduate special student at Columbia University. Maisa Tisdale went on to work as a private contractor for the US Department of State’s Bureau of Education & Cultural Affairs (ECA) for many years; and has worked as: Executive Director of The Ocean Classroom (Bridgeport, CT); Assistant Director of Admissions at Fairfield University (Fairfield, CT); and Manager of Sponsorships and Grants, Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center (Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation).