Tanya Debose

Tanya Debose is an activist, organizer and advocate for preserving African American history and culture. Debose is most known for her work in Independence Heights where she has deep roots as her great grandfather was one of the first pioneers to purchase land in what was to become the first African American municipality in Texas known as Independence Heights.

Based on her experience, Debose founded the Preserving Communities of Color Initiative that focuses on preserving historic communities of color by transforming them into inclusive communities and cultural destinations. The initiative consists of an annual conference and gathering of community advocates, leaders, scholars and elected officials. Additionally, the initiative provides support to historic communities of color connecting them with resources, tools and other support.

Debose participates in several national initiatives most notably, the Historic Black Towns and Settlements Alliance where she spearheads many media and engagement campaigns aimed at building awareness about historic black towns. More recently, Debose coordinated a national summit focused on building a national heritage corridor across multiple states. This corridor is intended to connect leaders across state lines and build awareness about the importance of “all black towns” and how they were created after the Civil War during the aftermath of racial unrest.

Her recent work is strategically focused on organizing Texas. Through her efforts she is creating a statewide consortium of heritage councils to serve as a catalyst for promoting the protection of African American history and culture in Texas.

Debose is an American Leadership Forum Fellow and has received many awards and recognitions for her work in the community. She is the mother of two and resides in Houston.