I’m the great-great-grandchild of Captain James Spencer, the Union veteran who helped build what we now call Freetown in Pasadena, Maryland. Growing up here wasn’t just about learning local history from textbooks—it was living it. I walk the same land my ancestor once tended, drive down Spencer Road with pride, and hear echoes of his vision in the stories passed around at community cookouts and Sunday services.
Freetown isn’t just home—it’s the embodiment of strength, unity, and purpose. Captain Spencer didn’t just give us land. He gave us the foundation for freedom, ownership, and community. After the Civil War, he saw an opportunity to create something permanent for newly freed Black families. He didn’t hesitate—he opened his land, extended his hand, and invited people to build lives rooted in dignity. That kind of generosity and foresight pulses through our neighborhood even now.
When I was a kid, elders used to point to the old Rosenwald school building and say, “That’s where your people made sure you’d have better.” They talked about the lodge-turned-schoolhouse from 1914 with such reverence—because every beam, every brick carried our determination to educate ourselves, even when no one else would.
Today, I work in Anne Arundel County—just minutes from where I grew up—and I still feel that same sense of mission. Whether I’m mentoring young people or helping preserve our family history through community talks, I know I’m continuing Spencer’s legacy. The world’s changed a lot since his time, but our values haven’t. We still believe in supporting one another, in working hard, and in remembering where we come from.
When people ask why I haven’t moved away, I tell them: “This land has been in my family for generations—and it’s still giving life.” I want my children, and their children, to know that their roots run deep here. That freedom isn’t just a concept—it’s a community. And that the legacy of Captain James Spencer isn’t confined to the pages of history. It’s alive in me.
