H.R. 1704 — RESTORE Act

This section states 17 congressional findings on the history, establishment, challenges, and preservation needs of over 1,200 Freedmen’s Settlements, Black Towns, and Freedom Colonies—primarily founded by formerly enslaved African Americans between 1866 and 1930—including their underdevelopment due to racial violence, divestment, and exclusion from infrastructure, and the value of federal identification, documentation, historic designation, and investment to promote equity and community resilience.

This section establishes the National Freedom Settlements Preservation Program (Program) within the National Park Service to identify, research, preserve, commemorate, and interpret Freedom Settlements—communities established by formerly enslaved African Americans following emancipation (i.e., also known as Freedmen’s Settlements, Freedom Colonies, or Black Towns). The Secretary of the Interior must (1) develop a grant program in consultation with African-American community organizations, experts, Freedom Settlement groups, and residents/descendants; (2) award grants to eligible entities (property owners, Tribal/state/local governments, and community organizations) for site identification, cultural/heritage preservation and tourism development, research/documentation, capacity-building, and educational programming, with private property owner consent required; (3) conduct a study of key sites suitable for the Program; (4) maintain a registry of verified Freedom Settlements (e.g., Nicodemus, Kansas; Africatown, Alabama; Mound Bayou, Mississippi); and (5) establish a Freedom Settlements Advisory Committee. The section authorizes $3 million annually for grants in FY2026 through FY2031 and authorizes the Secretary to accept donations and enter cooperative agreements. (Thus, the Program coordinates federal efforts to honor these sites' role in African-American history, racial justice, and wealth equality while protecting private property rights.)