Fl Freedom Schools to Empower Students With African American History Courses

Florida News Connection 
August 21, 2024

By: Trimmel Gomes

The Association for the Study of African American Life and History is bringing its "Freedom Schools" initiative to Florida as part of a national effort to counter legislative efforts restricting the teaching of major historical topics.

With a rolling schedule, six chapters across the state are gearing up to offer classes focused on African American history.

W. Marvin Dulaney, president of the association, emphasized the significance of the classes.

"We're teaching freedom," Dulaney explained. "We're preparing people to challenge the legislation by these 22 states that are trying to restrict the teaching of slavery, the teaching of the civil rights movement."

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis defends the state's crackdown on how race is taught in schools, when education officials rejected an African American studies course from being implemented earlier this year. Classes start in September in Jacksonville, with Tampa, Manasota and St. Petersburg expected to follow.

Inspired by the 1964 Freedom Summer in Mississippi, the Freedom Schools series aims to empower students by teaching eight key areas of African American history, including slavery, the civil rights movement and the Harlem Renaissance. Dulaney argued such topics should already be taught in schools.

"We're going to look at African history, slavery, we will look at the American Revolution, Civil War Reconstruction, race relations in this country in the early 20th century," Dulaney outlined. "We'll look at the Harlem Renaissance, the Black Arts movement, and of course, obviously, we'll do the civil rights movement."

Dulaney hopes educators will adopt the curriculum in classrooms across the state to ensure a comprehensive understanding of African American history, particularly in the face of ongoing educational restrictions. Interested individuals can check their local Association for the Study of African American Life and History chapter websites for start dates and details on the Florida courses.

Content for this Post is provided by Florida News Connection, a Bureau of Public News Service.  Public News Service is a member of the The Trust Project.