Utilizing genealogy techniques, legal research skills, and a passionate drive for learning history, the author reveals how the force of freedom after the Emancipation Proclamation propelled a family from a small mining town of the Black Belt South into the mid-western metropolis of Chicago. Spanning several "renaissance eras"-- over 150 years--the power of freedom and faith drove them to ascend to the leadership of civil rights groups, labor organizations, and churches. Working with notables like A. Phillip Randolph, W.E. B. Dubois, and many more, their efforts would lead to the world's largest African-American settlement house during the migrations of the Great Depression. By providing a service to their community, American society, Africa and humanity, their lives are proof of how the force of freedom can foster dreams into reality and inspire future generations.