Weekly Reflection: Remembering the Freedom Schools of Freedom Summer

During these hot summer days, I want to lift up an important part of the Civil Rights Movement in 1964. Freedom Summer was a campaign in Mississippi focused on voter registration, community centers, and freedom schools. A Freedom School offered not only academic enrichment but exposed children to African American history and culture that had been ignored or excluded from their public education. The first video posted below provides a glimpse into the Freedom Schools of 1964. The Freedom Summer campaign received opposition from the white power structure in the state including physical violence that destroyed property and cost the lives of three civil rights workers. The second video posted below reminds us of the courage it took for the Freedom Summer volunteers and local residents to persist in the face of such state sponsored oppression.

When I think of Freedom Summer 1964 and the role of Freedom Schools in that campaign, I am reminded of our ongoing need to teach the truth about the racial history of our nation especially in the face of opposition in the form of distortions about Critical Race Theory. Many states and localities have restricted what and how the role of race can be taught by trying to eliminate “inherently divisive concepts” they mistakenly associate with CRT. The deep racial divisions in our history and in the current cultural context can never be healed by ignoring or refusing to address the reality and legacy of racism. Especially in those places that are enforcing restrictions based on stereotypes and distortions about Critical Race Theory, it is essential for faith communities and other organizations to provide opportunities that help children and adults to learn about our nation’s history in ways that promote deep engagement rather than superficial comfort. Fortunately, the legacy of the Freedom Schools continues in many ways in many communities. The Children’s Defense Fund operates contemporary Freedom Schools during the summer in many parts of the country. The second picture posted above comes from a Freedom School in Lynchburg, VA. The third video posted below features scholar Kimberle Crenshaw who addresses the “controversy” about Critical Race Theory and how it needs to be reclaimed from recent efforts to distort it. In our own small way, the ministry of the Cornelius Corps is committed to keeping alive the spirit and legacy of the Freedom Schools of 1964, because we believe the words of Jesus, “…and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” (John 8:32)