Liberation Lineages
A photo series celebrating legacies of Afro-descendant land stewardship across South Texas, Western Cuba and la Costa Chica de México.Photos and Words by Briana Blueitt
Hope is a discipline / Esperanza es una disciplina, Soroa, Cuba, 2024.
During seasons of great social and political upheaval, history has proven that community safety and survival relies on our connections to one another and the land. My paternal grandmother, born in Jasper County, Texas in 1930 on the outset of the Great Depression, was a loving caregiver, a resourceful financial steward and the keeper of a large garden and farm at her home.
My paternal grandmother, Ada Jane Blueitt Philips in the 1950s.
She grew tall stalks of corn, bright green okra, nourishing crowder peas, purple hull peas and a colorful variety of peppers. The perimeter of her home was lined with generous fruit trees that gave endlessly each summer, spoiling us with the ripest of peaches.
On any given day, a collection of soft tomatoes sat in her kitchen windowsill, waiting to answer the call from the right recipe. My grandmother cared for my sisters and me through sweltering summers and taught us early on that land is sacred and foundational to our long-term care.
The land always gave us more than we needed — this blessing of abundance often marked by celebration when neighbors came over to share in the harvest. We watched the sun set from grandma’s screened porch while shelling peas, catching the breeze in wooden rocking chairs.
In 2024, I created this documentary photo series in honor of my grandmother during my time as an Artist in Residence at the Democratizing Racial Justice Project. It celebrates continued legacies of land stewardship in Afro-descendant communities across South Texas, Western Cuba and la Costa Chica de México.
“My grandmother cared for my sisters and me through sweltering summers and taught us early on that land is sacred and foundational to our long term care.”
From generational farmers and ranchers returning to regenerative practices in Texas Freedom Colonies, to urban gardeners exchanging knowledge and seeds at ReglaSOUL in Havana, we carry a shared past, present and future.
May this series reveal kinship and connections between our cultural traditions and movements for land and food sovereignty.
South Texas (San Antonio, Luling, Barrett, Jasper County)
Seventh generation, San Antonio, Texas, 2024.
Collard greens are a portal (I), San Antonio, Texas, 2024.
Collard greens are a portal (II), San Antonio, Texas, 2024.
Below the creek, Jasper County, Texas, 2024.
Each one teach one, Luling, Texas, 2024.
La Costa Chica de México
(La Isla de Chacahua, Barra de Navidad)
La matriarca, Chacahua, México, 2024.
Orgullosamente Afromexicano, Chacahua, México, 2024.
Somos espejos, Barra de Navidad, Oaxaca, 2024.
Manglares, Chacahua, México, 2024.
Western Cuba
(Guanabo, Soroa, Havana)
Sugar apple, Havana, Cuba, 2024.
Enseñando la nueva generación, Soroa, Cuba, 2024.
Hierro y nopal, Havana, Cuba, 2024.
El campo necesitamos, Guanabo, Cuba, 2024.
Hope is a discipline / Esperanza es una disciplina, Soroa, Cuba, 2024.
Briana Blueitt (she/her) is a writer, graphic designer and documentary photographer from South Texas. Her work highlights shared histories, legacies and solidarity among and between communities in the U.S. South and Global South. Prior to working in independent media, she developed and implemented multimedia communications strategies to support progressive policies and political campaigns.