Tamina is one of the few remaining emancipation communities in the U.S., according to a community website. It is considered the oldest freedmen's town in Texas, according to the website. A freedmen's town is an African American municipality or community built by former enslaved people, according to the site.
Marti Corn, a documentary portrait photographer based in Houston, published a book in 2016 called "The Ground on Which I Stand: Tamina, a Freedmen's Town." The book documents the history of the Tamina community since it was settled in 1871.
Corn, along with several residents featured in the book, attended the celebration to sign books and speak with the community on the importance and history of Tamina. The Oak Ridge North Jazz Ensemble also played a specially composed rendition of a song called "Tamina" during the celebration followed by the Tamina Church of Christ Choir singing gospel for the crowd.
According to officials at the event, the celebration is intended to occur annually.
