Freedom School, local effort to teach Black history for Sarasota-Manatee students, returns

Following a successful pilot program last spring, Manasota ASALH will resume its weekend African-American history lessons known as Freedom School for local students beginning Saturday, Nov. 4.

The free, in-person classes will be held every Saturday from 11:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. at its new location at Girls Inc., 201 S. Tuttle Ave. in Sarasota, through April 20, 2024. Freedom School will not be held during school or holiday breaks. Lunch is provided for each student during the history lesson.

The pilot education program drew the support of local educators and philanthropic organizations, including a $200,000 grant from The Community Foundation of Sarasota County's Marilyn G. Harwell Fund to help sustain the program as leaders continue their mission to educate local students about African-American history.

The local chapter of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, or ASALH, is gearing up for what the organization's leaders hope is a successful second run of teaching and sharing the contributions of African Americans throughout history. Topics and lessons are grade-level appropriate and discuss a range of historical topics such as the history of Africa, the Middle Passage, the origins of the slave trade, the economics of the antebellum South, Emancipation and the Civil Rights movement.

Freedom School is open to Sarasota and Manatee students in grades kindergarten through 12th, of all ethnicities. Program leaders are hoping for a diverse group of students this session and are targeting students in Manatee County in addition to Hispanic and non-Black students. They have a goal of enrolling 100 students for this session, with more parent engagement.

Students and parents can follow the Freedom School Registration link to register for Freedom School.

National support for Freedom School

Freedom School was re-implemented in spring 2023 in part to combat the Florida law HB7, referred to by critics as the Stop W.O.K.E. Act. The bill essentially prohibits any teaching in Florida public classrooms that could make students feel they bear personal responsibility for historic wrongs because of their race, color, sex, or national origin.

Manasota's Freedom School pilot quickly gained support from Florida's six other ASALH chapters after its rollout in February. Each of the Florida ASALH branches has implemented its own weekend school in their cities.

"We're seeing some local progressive people speaking up and getting to business. We think it's the right response because the heart of the attack is against the education system, broadly," said Manasota ASALH president David Wilkins. "This gives us the opportunity to reinforce the teaching of Black history. It's still a requirement of state law to be taught... Passing a law like HB7 creates greater anxiety for teachers who want to teach African American history and follow the law."

David Wilkins and wife Lois joined hundreds of other attendees at the ASALH annual national conference in late September in Jacksonville, where educators and historians discussed the effects of rewriting and erasing African American history.

Wilkins led an in-depth roundtable that explored the various approaches taken by each Florida Freedom School program, its curriculum, structure, student participation, teacher engagement, and program outcomes.

"The Manasota branch, being the largest, drives a lot of the momentum and the engagement of people, particularly because there was some controversy about whether we should have the conference at all in Florida," Lois Wilkins said. "Once it was established that yes, we are hosting in Florida, we decided let's raise the critical issues that are concerning to us. The research and critical issues are happening in real time."

ASALH's national executive council also voted to approve and move forward with implementing the Freedom School program on a national level at the conference. Manasota's Freedom School will serve as the model for the national rollout of the Civil Rights era education program.

"The teaching of factual history plays an essential role in fostering a civil society and these lessons are as important today as they ever were," he said.

"The ASALH executive council voted to make Freedom School the number one program priority going forward nationally. Whatever Tallahassee does we will continue to work to combat that."

"This gives us the opportunity to reinforce the teaching of Black history. It's still a requirement of state law to be taught... Passing a law like HB7 creates greater anxiety for teachers who want to teach African American history and follow the law."

David Wilkins and wife Lois joined hundreds of other attendees at the ASALH annual national conference in late September in Jacksonville, where educators and historians discussed the effects of rewriting and erasing African American history.

Wilkins led an in-depth roundtable that explored the various approaches taken by each Florida Freedom School program, its curriculum, structure, student participation, teacher engagement, and program outcomes.

"The Manasota branch, being the largest, drives a lot of the momentum and the engagement of people, particularly because there was some controversy about whether we should have the conference at all in Florida," Lois Wilkins said. "Once it was established that yes, we are hosting in Florida, we decided let's raise the critical issues that are concerning to us. The research and critical issues are happening in real time."

ASALH's national executive council also voted to approve and move forward with implementing the Freedom School program on a national level at the conference. Manasota's Freedom School will serve as the model for the national rollout of the Civil Rights era education program.

“The teaching of factual history plays an essential role in fostering a civil society and these lessons are as important today as they ever were," he said.

"The ASALH executive council voted to make Freedom School the number one program priority going forward nationally. Whatever Tallahassee does we will continue to work to combat that."

To see the story as it originally appeared on Nov. 2, 2023, in the Herald Tribune, click here.