Freedom Summer

​

Freedom Schools began during the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer Project, which brought college students from across the nation to support justice and secure voting rights for Black citizens. At that time, Mississippi’s public schools did not provide rich or equitable learning opportunities, so the Freedom Schools aimed to fill that gap while offering Black children and youth a safe place to learn. The volunteer college students taught reading, writing, humanities, math, and science, along with subjects excluded from the state’s public schools, such as Black history and constitutional rights. Their instruction was designed to help young people become independent thinkers, capable problem solvers, and active agents of change within their communities.