![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260630_MYG_FreedomTable-6-1024x683.jpg\")
Freedom Table attendees gathered to honor and reflect on American history at Trinity United Methodist Church in Arlington on June 30, 2026. (Marissa Greene | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\nAnnie Dobbins sees the fabric of American history like a quilt. Each square of cloth on its own may appear \u201cinsignificant,\u201d the Fort Worth resident said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut when you put the pieces together, it becomes this beautiful array, and it warms you,\u201d said Dobbins, who identifies her heritage as African American, Irish and Native American.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dobbins and her husband were among the congregants Wednesday night at Trinity United Methodist Church in Arlington for Freedom Table. The annual gathering, nestled between Juneteenth and Independence Day, invites the public to come together for an evening of storytelling, reflection and conversation about the meaning of freedom in America.<\/p>\n
The event \u2014 in its third iteration \u2014 blended a mix of liturgy, music and speeches from people of Jewish and Christian faiths who contemplated how the nation\u2019s history is told by African Americans, Native Americans and immigrants.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Freedom Table attendees gathered to honor and reflect on American history at Trinity United Methodist Church in Arlington on June 30, 2026. (Marissa Greene | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n
Freedom Table began in 2024 as a way for people of different cultures and backgrounds to assemble and reflect on all angles of American history, said the Rev. Dr. Alfie Wines, co-founder of the initiative.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur story is a story of pain and promise, and it\u2019s essential for us to acknowledge and deal with the pain,\u201d Wines said. \u201cFreedom means something different to everybody.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Attendees kicked off the event by breaking bread. They first dined on charoset, a mixture of finely chopped fruits and nuts eaten at a Passover Seder<\/a>, accompanied by horseradish and matzo crackers.<\/p>\n Also on the menu: poyha and wojapi, a rich cornmeal-based meatloaf and a tart berry sauce, representing Native American cuisine. Roasted maple-bacon sweet potatoes were served with sorghum, pecans and dried cranberries, in homage to enslaved people. And for the immigrant experience: pan de elote, a sweet Mexican cornbread, served with roasted poblanos.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEating together is one of the most intimate things that we can do as humans,\u201d said Lisa Amoriello, the evening\u2019s chef. \u201cFood is one of the remaining things left on earth that is universal to both survival, family and to freedom.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Participants engaged in a series of table conversations and shared testimonies that delved into the promises, struggles, sacrifices and hopes that have shaped the American experience.<\/p>\n Anyra Cano, a pastor at Iglesia Bautista Victoria en Cristo in east Fort Worth, shared the challenges her parents faced immigrating from Northern Mexico to the United States.\u00a0<\/p>\n Despite the hardships her parents endured, Cano said her parents benefited from people who embraced their humanity \u2014 offering them a place to stay and guidance in navigating college. That generosity helped Cano\u2019s mother become a preschool teacher and ultimately guided her parents to become U.S. citizens.\u00a0<\/p>\n A message Cano\u2019s parents instilled in their daughter is that she should always remember her heritage and her story, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we forget where we have come from, when we forget our stories and where our families have come from, we lack compassion and justice and empathy toward others,\u201d Cano said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Rev. Dr. Nelda Barrett Murraine, a religious leader of First United Methodist Church of Kennedale, shared the story of her grandfather, a World War I veteran and longtime custodian at Broadway Baptist Church who received a place of honor<\/a> inside the church\u2019s narthex.\u00a0<\/p>\n John Thomas worked at Broadway during the Jim Crow era but wasn\u2019t allowed to worship at the church during his lifetime. In 2024, the church unveiled a commissioned painting of Thomas walking toward the front of the church, Bible in hand, as an act of reparation<\/a> for tolerating segregation within its pews.\u00a0<\/p>\n While Barrett Murraine reflected fondly of the moment her grandfather was honored, she also acknowledged divisions remain.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re about to celebrate 250 years of this country. \u2026 But how far have we come?\u201d Barrett Murraine said. \u201cLet\u2019s begin to believe what the Founding Fathers said, that all men are created equal with certain unalienable rights.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are called to pursue truth, justice, belonging and beloved community not by ignoring difficult history \u2014 but by facing it together\u201d said Tajiri Brackens, founder and CEO of Heritage Leadership Consulting LLC. She noted the empty seats intentionally included at each table represented stories that may not have been included in the night\u2019s discussion.<\/p>\n \u201cFreedom is not found in forgetting; freedom is found in remembering, freedom is found in listening, and freedom is found in making room at the table,\u201d Brackens said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Melodic chords of \u201cAmerica the Beautiful\u201d filled the room as volunteer servers brought out the event\u2019s final dish \u2014 banana pudding adorned with red, white and blue decorations.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dobbins looks forward to meeting the person who will share a table with her next year.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEvery voice is valuable. Every person is valuable,\u201d she said. \u201cThere is plenty of room at the table.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Marissa Greene is a Report for America corps member, covering faith for the Fort Worth Report. You can contact her at marissa.greene@fortworthreport.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260630_MYG_FreedomTable-5-1024x683.jpg\")
Attendees of Freedom Table broke bread with one another at Trinity United Methodist Church in Arlington on June 30, 2026. (Marissa Greene | Fort Worth Report) <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260630_MYG_FreedomTable-3-1024x683.jpg\")
Banana pudding adorned with red, white and blue decorations is served during a Freedom Table event at Trinity United Methodist Church in Arlington on June 30, 2026. (Marissa Greene | Fort Worth Report)<\/p>\n