A Pathway to Liberation: A History of the Freedom Schools and the Long Struggle for Justice Since 1865

Abstract

The Freedom School Movement originated at the nexus of the struggles for liberation and full citizenship. Beginning with the articulation of education as a means to freedom during the era of enslavement, the ideology behind Freedom Schools was an integral aspect of the long Black freedom struggle in the United States. Freedom Schools have continually recognized the integral role and contribution of Black activists and educators who, throughout the course of the United States’ history, have historically provided a counternarrative to white supremacy and racist policy through education grounded in the needs, aspirations, and wisdom of local community organizing.