Historic Freetown–One Journey Symposium
Connecting Freetown’s founding stories with the wider African diaspora through a global series of historical dialogues.
KDU Global convenes the Historic Freetown–One Journey Symposium as its flagship educational and cultural forum, preserving the shared story of the Krio people — the "one journey" that united the community's founding groups (the Black Poor, Nova Scotians, Maroons, and Liberated Africans) in the "Province of Freedom" that became Freetown. That heritage remains anchored in landmarks standing today: the Cotton Tree, where settlers gathered for a thanksgiving service in 1792 upon establishing the settlement, and King's Yard Gate, through which at least 80,000 liberated Africans passed between 1808 and 1864 instead of being sold into slavery. Consistent with its mission to unite Krio descendants worldwide through heritage preservation, KDU Global uses the symposium to bring historians, cultural leaders, and community members together to educate on the Krio past, present, and future.
Associated Links:
• Atlas Obscura – King's Yard Gate: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/gateway-to-the-old-kings-yards
• Atlas Obscura – Cotton Tree, Freetown: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/cotton-tree-freetown
• Encyclopedia.com – Creoles of Sierra Leone: https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/creoles-sierra-leone