Freedom for Education

"[The purpose of Freedom Schools] is to create an educational experience for students which will make it possible for them to challenge the myths of our society, to perceive more clearly its realities, and to find alternatives — ultimately new directions for action."
-Chalres Cobb, founder

I really enjoyed the visit to the Civil Rights Museum, having never been before. As I walked through the exhibit the display that stuck out the most however, was the information on the Freedom Schools. As some of you know, I am an education major and am really interested in teaching in the Jubilee schools the Catholic Diocese of Memphis runs. These are inner-city schools for underprivileged youth. They not only provide the same Catholic education that students in Germantown, Cordova, and Collierville receive, but they do so at little cost to the families. (Tuition is the same at over 3000 per student per year.) They also provide uniforms, wash them, and provide lunch-the only meal some of the children receive. The 10 schools operate in the lowest income zip codes in Memphis. These schools could be viewed as a direct descendant of the Freedom Schools.
The Freedom Schools were developed as part of the 1964 Freedom Summer civil rights project, an effort to increase voter registration among African Americans. Each school was operated according to the needs of the area. A three part curriculum of academics, citizenship, and recreation was used. Adults and children both attended as part of over 3000 students in over 40 schools mainly in the state of Mississippi. The need for the schools was immense as Mississippi schools were still segregated after the Brown ruling and the state spent much less on African American students and had an easier curriculum. School was also not compulsory, so most African American students worked in the fields rather than attending school. many organizations today continue the efforts of the Freedom Schools including the Children's Defense Fund. I believe the Jubilee Schools are doing the same thing. In the words of one parent, "Now my child has a chance to go to college, to be somebody --a chance I never had. It's a chance I never thought I could give him." I decided to become a teacher when I was studying to be a missionary. I thought I could make a difference in the world through education. I was crushed, when because of illness, that dream was closed to me. I'm so glad that this class if giving me a new appreciation of the city I've lived in my whole life, but never really known. I can still make a difference through education, and without leaving Memphis. I hope I continue to grow in my appreciation for the city. Maybe we as a class can encourage people in their thinking of the city so that more people think of it as a city being reborn and not a dead city.