“Between 1817 and 1840, there was legal, and extralegal, trafficking of enslaved Africans into these waters and onto this land. . . . We want to remember them today.”
In an article featured in Texas Monthly, Tianna Bruno is interviewed about her extensive community-based and collaborative work on Black geographies and environmental relations in Port Arthur, Texas. At an event in late March 2024, community members gathered near the waterfront in Port Arthur to dedicate a new marker to the enslaved peoples brought to the area by sea. Bruno served on the ceremony and marker steering committee and was the keynote speaker for the marker ceremony. Bruno is also quoted on the marker:
"We remember always the ways the Middle Passage and its aftermath have touched these shores. We remember our ancestors. May they be well. May they know peace. We honor and mourn their suffering. We stand in gratitude of their strength and survival for us, for themself and for generations to come."