Definition & Peoplehood
Soulaan, interpreted as Soul Autochthonous American, is an autonym identifying a distinct, autochthonous American-origin ethnocultural and ethnolinguistic peoplehood rooted in U.S. soil. Their identity, culture, linguistic traditions, and communities developed through generations of historical continuity. Their heritage includes Soul Food, Soul Music, Rootwork, Ebonics, and other American-born traditions. Soulaan is the People!
What isSoulaan?
OriginStory
The Beginning
Soulaan emerged publicly as “Soulan” around 2020 through T’Roy Parks, evolving into “Soulaan” in April 2024 as the concept developed. Through the contributions of co-creators Dwayne Coleman II, Maroc Soulaan, and the community itself, its meaning expanded into an expression of distinct peoplehood. As the community adopted the name across art, music, social spaces, identity-focused conversations, Soulaan has now officially grown into a broader cultural identity through which its people can express, celebrate, and advance their autochthonous American heritage.
Choosing Our Own Narrative
Our mission is to preserve and advance Soulaan people’s history, culture, and collective interests through education, cultural preservation, institution-building, and self-determination.
OurMission
13Soulaan Values
Value:
- SELF-DEFENSE
Live fully.
Joy is an essential part of a meaningful life. We make room for celebration, creativity, play, beauty, connection, and the simple experience of being alive. Our culture is not defined only by what we overcome, but also by the happiness, laughter, and fulfillment we create together.
Care for one another.
Love is expressed through action. It means caring for our people, showing up for one another, nurturing relationships, and treating one another with dignity. We believe a strong people is built through relationships rooted in genuine care, consideration, respect, and commitment.
Seek peace through justice and balance.
Peace and harmony are not the absence of conflict. They are the pursuit of balance, justice, cooperation, and right relationship. We seek a way of living where people, communities, and the world around us can exist with greater understanding and mutual respect.
Receive. Build. Carry forward. Give.
Legacy connects ancestors, the living, and successors into one continuous responsibility. It means remembering those who came before, preserving cultural memory, protecting what has been inherited, building in the present, and leaving something valuable for those who come afterward. Wealth, institutions, traditions, stories, knowledge, land, businesses, family records, and cultural practices should be maintained and transmitted rather than repeatedly lost between generations.
Determine your own destiny.
Liberty is both personal ability and collective self-determination. It encompasses sovereignty, autonomy, ownership, independence, freedom of thought, freedom of movement, self-definition, and the ability to determine one's own future.
Learn. Understand. Apply. Teach.
Wisdom is the pursuit, understanding, and practical application of knowledge. Education should produce more than information; it should develop critical thinkers capable of researching, questioning, discerning, solving problems, learning from experience, and applying what they discover. Wisdom also carries a responsibility to teach and transmit useful knowledge so that each generation does not have to begin again.
Honor the sacred, in all its expressions.
Divinity recognizes the longstanding importance of faith, spirituality, sacred traditions, and inner life across Soulaan culture and history. Across different religions, spiritual practices, philosophies, and personal beliefs, Soulaan people have expressed values of reverence, purpose, spirit, intuition, inner strength, and connection beyond the self. This value honors that shared cultural legacy without prescribing any particular religion, spiritual practice, or belief system. It encourages respect for the many ways Soulaan people understand the sacred, seek meaning, and cultivate their inner lives.
We refuse to believe that we are limited to what already exists. Ingenuity calls us to imagine, invent, innovate, experiment, and build new solutions to old problems. We honor the creative spirit that turns vision into something tangible and expands what is possible for our people.
Sustain. Adapt. Rebuild.
Our ability to continue is one of our greatest strengths. Resilience is the ability to persevere, adapt, recover, and rebuild when confronted with difficulty. It does not romanticize suffering or require people to accept mistreatment. Instead, it recognizes that hardship, failure, disruption, and loss do not have to determine the final outcome. Resilience means learning from what happened, adjusting when necessary, rising again, and continuing forward.
One band, one sound. Play your part.
We are strengthened by one another. Community means recognizing that every person has a role to play and that our collective strength depends on our willingness to contribute. We build together, support one another, and understand that the success of one can strengthen the whole.
Truth over comfort.
Authenticity means valuing what is real above what is comfortable, convenient, popular, or personally advantageous. It encompasses honesty, truth, integrity, sincerity, and the willingness to question both others and yourself. To value truth is to remain willing to correct your beliefs when better evidence emerges and to live in alignment with what you genuinely know rather than performing for acceptance.
Know Yourself, Govern Yourself
Awareness begins with the self. It means knowing who you are, examining your thoughts and behavior, recognizing your strengths and shortcomings, and understanding how your actions affect others. Awareness requires accountability rather than avoidance, reflection rather than reaction, and enough self-discipline to govern yourself. It also includes knowledge of your identity, lineage, history, and place within a larger community.
Co-Creators & Leadership
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Maroc Wallace
Co-creator
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Dwayne Coleman II
Co-creator
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T-Roy Parks
Co-creator
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Yma Philo
Cultural Creative Director
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Saint Soulaan
Language Coordinator
