Keynote Address: "Freedom Ain’t Free: Juneteenth and the Continuation of Slavery After Emancipation Day"

currently serves as an Associate Professor of History at Prairie View
Agricultural & Mechanical University in Texas where he has instructed and mentored thousands of
Black, Brown, and working-class students atop the Alta Vista plantation. His training within the
Black Studies Program at The Ohio State University allowed intellectual interests of Race, Black
Intellectual History, Black Power Politics, and Hip-Hop Culture to be cultivated. Dr. Jones has recently
completed the 2nd Volume of the soon to be published Foolish Floyd: The Life and Times of an
African-American Contrarian and working on a manuscript titled, Dear Son: A Roadmap to Success
for African-American Males.

Workshop: "Historic Black Towns Across America"

is an activist, organizer, and advocate for preserving African American history and culture.
She is most known for her work in Independence Heights, the first African American municipality in
Texas. Her great grandfather was one of the first pioneers to purchase land there. Debose founded the
Preserving Communities of Color Initiative that focuses on preserving these historic areas by transforming
them into inclusive communities and cultural destinations. She also participates in the Historic Black
Towns and Settlements Alliance, spearheading many media and engagement campaigns to build awareness
about historic black towns created after the Civil War. Debose is an American Leadership Forum Fellow

and has received many awards and recognitions for her work in the community.

Taneya Koonce

Taneya Koonce is an enthusiastic genealogist with a long-standing passion for exploring family history
and more than 20 years of professional expertise in information science, research, and information
organization. Taneya volunteers extensively in the genealogy community, with current leadership roles in
the Afro-American Historical & Genealogical Society (National Treasurer and AAHGS Nashville Chapter
President) and the USGenWeb Project (National Representative-at-Large). Through her Academy of
Legacy Leaders Facebook community, Taneya facilitates education and inspiration for family history.

Workshop: "The Maryland Lynching Memorial Project"

is an independent television producer, EP, writer and director based in Baltimore, MD. The
award-winning television veteran has more than 30 years of experience creating original non-fiction
programming for broadcast, government and corporate clients. Will’s work has been honored with numerous
Emmy, Telly and other industry awards.
Schwarz is also the founder and President of the Maryland Lynching Memorial Project, Inc., a 501(c)(3)
organization that works to advance the cause of racial reconciliation in the state by documenting the
history of racial terror lynchings, advocating for public acknowledgement of these murders and working