Building Home: A Look at the Free Black Communities of Fairfield County

Teresa Vega has dedicated nearly two decades to researching her family history and genealogy. Through her efforts, Teresa successfully traced several maternal mixed-race lines back to Colonial New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Virginia. Notably, she uncovered direct ancestral ties to one of the original 11 Angolans arriving in New Amsterdam in 1626, the first Afro-Dutch who arrived in 1630, the first enslaved Malagasy who arrived in the mid-1600s, and the Munsee (Ramapough) Lenape, whose land was colonized.
Her academic background includes Bachelor's Degrees in Anthropology and Asian Studies from Bowdoin College, where she also served as an adjunct professor in Cultural Anthropology while pursuing her doctoral program at CUNY Graduate School and University Center. This cultural anthropology expertise has significantly enriched her exploration of ancestral roots.
To share her genealogy research with others, Teresa launched her blog, www.radiantrootsboricuabranches.com. Beyond her blog, she actively contributes to historical societies in the Tri-state region. She is also an advisor to The Witness Stones Project and Newark Public History Project.
Teresa's dedication to preserving African-American heritage extends to her membership in both the NJ and NY Chapters of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAGHS). She is a former YouTube BlackProGen LIVE panelist, lending her expertise to broader discussions on genealogy. Moreover, since 2014, Teresa co-administers FamilyTree DNA's Malagasy Roots Project in partnership with CeCe Moore from PBS's Finding Your Roots, further solidifying her position in the field of genetic genealogy.

Maisa L. Tisdale has advocated for the preservation of the Mary & Eliza Freeman Houses since 1994, and founded the Mary & Eliza Freeman Center for History and Community in 2009 after coordinating a successful movement to save the homes from demolition. Over the past ten years Ms. Tisdale not only focused on the restoration of the Freeman houses, but has worked to create a safer and healthier “built” environment in Bridgeport’s South End – focusing on historic preservation, community development, and climate change.
Ms. Tisdale strengthened her background in African American Studies during her undergraduate years at Yale University, where she earned a BA in Asian Studies. She also studied sociology and history as a postgraduate special student at Columbia University. Maisa Tisdale went on to work as a private contractor for the US Department of State’s Bureau of Education & Cultural Affairs (ECA) for many years; and has worked as: Executive Director of The Ocean Classroom (Bridgeport, CT); Assistant Director of Admission at Fairfield University (Fairfield, CT); and Manager of Sponsorships and Grants, Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center (Mashantucket Pequot