THE HILL’S FREEDOM SCHOOL

“Throughout the 1960s, parents and educators nationwide fought fierce battles not only to improve inner-city schools, but also to take decision-making powers away from downtown and put them in the hands of the community. As a movement flourished in the Hill...this culture of resistance had a major influence on school reform activists, many of whom—in the tradition of the Freedom Schools in the South—set up their own alternative schools. Some were intended to take up the place of public school classrooms, and others were intended to supplement the traditional day with evening, summer, and weekend programs about black culture, citizen participation, the history of radical movements, music, arts, and ethnic dance...The Hill’s Freedom School program involved about twenty children between the ages of six and eleven who came together every afternoon for classes, discussions, and activities. In the evening, about fifteen teenagers usually gathered for intense discussions on topics such as black history, the war in Vietnam, and the history of capitalism. Shortly thereafter, a smaller group of seventeen- to twenty-year-olds also started its own “advanced seminar” Freedom School group. Teachers helped with research papers, offered instruction in reading, writing, music, and math, led discussions on weekly film screenings, and engaged students in issues affecting their neighborhood.”

Model City Blues