Nearly 100 acres of land just east of Macon in rural Wilkinson County, Georgia, lays the future home and safe-haven for Black families. Ashley Scott, a real estate agent and her friend, investor and entrepreneur Renee Walters, didn’t initially plan on this ambitious project. As they moved forward with their vision, it sparked interest in a reality TV show.
What We Know:
- News broke out last week of nearly 20 families in Georgia who created a pool of money to purchase land in a Georgia town. Scott made it clear that the goal is to create a safe-haven community for Black people. This idea quickly gathered widespread attention, including interest from big names in the entertainment industry to develop a reality TV.
Just some behind the scenes footage of when CNN came to Freedom, GA 9/9/2020 and interviewed VP, Ashley Scott of the Freedom Georgia Initiative! pic.twitter.com/3LMTdNyl3j
— Kenya Jasmine Sheats (@MyWayKay_) September 12, 2020
- According to TMZ, there have been several production companies that have been linked to Lifetime, A&E, Oxygen, and HGTV which showed interest in producing the series. As of late, the only details about the series are that it will be based on the future community dubbed Freedom, Georgia.
- This hard-working group of families, led by Scott and Walters, bought around 97 acres of land in Toomsboro, Georgia, a rural town of about 500 people, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates. The location is just two hours south of the city of Atlanta.
“Being able to create a community that is thriving, that is safe, that has agriculture and commercial businesses that are supporting one another and that dollars circulating in our community, that is our vision,” stated Scott.
- As far as the series is concerned, nothing has been set in stone. A concrete outline and timeline for both the TV and community project have not been revealed. However, it has been reported that members of the community project will have input before agreeing on the production of the series. They will have complete ownership of the footage and approval after the editing process.
- The slight control members will have on the production of the show is to help keep the narrative straight and avoid it straying from a positive light. With so much awareness raised on this South Georgia project, the community has already established a website, “The Freedom Georgia Initiative,” which gives more insight into their plans. The birth of the community was attributed to the “racial trauma, a global pandemic, and economic instabilities” that Black Americans have endured not only now, but for years.
The website shows the growing initiative, messages, and partners that have already teamed up to help make this dream a reality. The goal of Freedom, GA will be to create “an innovative community for environmentally sustainable-living, health & wellness, agricultural & economic development, arts & culture for generations to come”.
