As I began a family trip to Houston, my mom turned to me as we passed Tamina Rd. “Look up the history of Tamina,” she said. And what I found shocked me. Something that was never in a school textbook, never taught in any of my history classes, never even mentioned between the people around me, and yet it was always a search away.

A quick Google search will tell the story of a town brought together by freed slaves in 1871, from nothing but the money in their pockets. These are called emancipation communities which are dying out today in a modern world. Suburbs like Oak Ridge, Shenandoah, and The Woodlands grew around Tamina, leaving it weak to gentrification. To preserve the lives of the people of Tamina, one photographer captures their history and brings awareness to their community. 

A deeper search, and a familiar face led me to Marti Corn, a Houstonian who dedicated five years to study towns just like Tamina. In one photography project, “The Ground On Which I Stand,” Corn reveals the stories of freedmen and their values placed on family and community. Published by Texas A&M Press, I encourage readers to go here and learn about the community they might even live in, or, at the very least, get an understanding of their town’s history.