Yes, Freedom is different, but it’s not some shining beacon that demands attention or explanation. The people there know it, but the people not there don’t know it to interrogate it -- even if they pass through. Most of what’s different is beneath the surface; you gotta dig to find it and you gotta know where to look. If you went home with me now, and we walked through downtown, it’d look like any other small town -- maybe with a healthier economy; the storefronts are filled and people are working. But the biggest differences are in the way it feels. ...[I]n Freedom, we’re not burdened by remembering and we’re not threatened into forgetting. Sometimes it feels like there’s some kind of cultural ceremony or festival every week. It’s almost drilled into us, like the motto painted in the school hallway: ‘The past is our strength, and the memory keeps us strong.
Welcome to Freedom, Alabama: a setting for timely and timeless Black stories exploring love, grief, time, and … how to get free.
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