our origin story
about this quilt
“This quilt is a site of memory. It is a remnant of Emma Paulhill Brown, born in Fort Bend County on September 4, 1876, and died there on December 19, 1975. Pictured is a quilt she never completed. However, in this photo, shortly before her death, I sat on her lap eating her tea cakes as her daughter, Hester Brown Allen (born 1901), stood nearby. In that photo, I was around 18 months old and able to touch the Reconstruction Era (December 8, 1863 – March 31, 1877). During this Era, freedom colonies or Black settlements were founded.”
“In remembrance of all of the Emma Browns, I created the Out(sider) Preservation Initiative, which preserves the heritage of our earliest place makers and the descendants who leverage their faith, creativity, and tenacity to preserve these places.”
Dr. Andrea Roberts, PI
