Freedom Schools · In development
Education has always been a way to get free.
Freedom Schools will create learning opportunities beyond traditional classrooms for young people and communities who face barriers to educational resources.
DMV, national, and online
Two schools behind the name
Every generation has found another place to teach.
1847: the river
When Missouri banned Black education, Reverend John Berry Meachum moved his school onto a Mississippi River steamboat.
1964: Mississippi
The Mississippi Freedom Schools taught history, citizenship, and self-determination in communities denied all three.
Today: ours
Our Freedom Schools are inspired by both and continue neither. They are built with the communities we serve now.
Where we are
Built with communities, not for them.
We are building the educational framework now. Age groups, locations, curriculum, and partners will be shaped with educators, families, and community members.
We would rather start with something manageable, earn real participation, and grow thoughtfully than launch big and hollow.
The committee is forming
Help build
Freedom Schools.
Educators, parents, organizers, and young people: your experience should shape this from the start.
Explore the history
Read about John Berry Meachum through the City of St. Louis and about the 1964 Freedom Schools through SNCC Digital Gateway.