$200,000 Grant From Community Foundation Expands Manasota ASALH Freedom School

The Manasota ASALH Freedom School, which provides accurate, engaging lessons in African and African American history, is set to expand its reach thanks to a second round of funding—a $200,000 grant from the Marilyn G. Harwell Fungible Fund, a component fund of the Community Foundation of Sarasota County.

Launched in 2023 by the Manasota Branch of ASALH (the Association for the Study of African American Life and History), the Freedom School empowers K–12 students with knowledge of Black history—history that is increasingly restricted in Florida’s public schools.

Freedom Schools were established during the Civil Rights Movement to significantly augment Black history education in the segregated South at a time when it was nearly absent from public school curriculum. In selecting the curriculum for our Freedom School program, we were intentional about choosing content that is both historically accurate and culturally responsive.

Read more here.