Photo credit: hechingerreport.org
In a vibrant building adorned with murals near Indianola, Mississippi, 14-year-old Tamorris Carter energetically engaged visitors with his knowledge and enthusiasm.
He frequently paused to share insights about various displays, including photos from class excursions to civil rights landmarks and a poster he crafted on “social dominance orientation,” a term reflecting one’s acceptance of social disparities. Even during brief moments of stillness, Tamorris remained animated, often smoothing his cap, fidgeting with a colorful toy, or tracing words on his poster.
Tamorris was leading a tour of the Sunflower County Freedom Project, an educational initiative he has been part of for just over two years. The project is affiliated with the Freedom Project Network, an organization dedicated to providing comprehensive educational experiences aimed at fostering liberation for students in Mississippi.
At the Freedom Projects, students, referred to as “Freedom Fellows,” engage deeply with subjects including the histories of Black and Indigenous peoples, mathematics, literature, and public speaking, all while preparing for future college opportunities. The program caters to a diverse age group, accommodating students from third to twelfth grade.
Most participants at the Sunflower County location are locals from Indianola, which is home to about 9,000 residents, with a predominance of 84% identifying as Black. A significant portion of the local population—nearly one-third—lives in poverty. Surrounding the town center are extensive cotton fields, lush and green in summer. The nearby Mississippi State Penitentiary has been noted in the past for its harrowing conditions, akin to slavery’s aftermath. Recently, Indianola gained national attention when a police officer shot an unarmed 11-year-old Black boy.
Unlike some educational programs focused on helping students leave their communities, the Freedom Project Network aims to enrich the local environment itself. “We are not merely an organization seeking to push kids into college,” stated LaToysha Brown, the executive director. “Our goal is to empower these students to improve their own communities.”
Empowerment Through Education
As the summer program at the Sunflower County Freedom Project approached its conclusion in early July, students like Tamorris moved through various classrooms filled with activity.
“This is our library,” he indicated, leading into a space bursting with books focused on themes of Black history, social critique, and more. Next, he presented a large area with mats where physical activities such as taekwondo took place. Tamorris even demonstrated a swift punch as if in training.
He ventured into a blue-walled classroom where younger students were engaged in math. Quietly, he noted the walls were adorned with colorful posters from previous projects, including information about Black colleges and critical reflections on racial dynamics.
The Freedom Project Network derives its name from the Freedom Schools initiated by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in 1964. These schools were established to educate young Black Mississippians on their history and empower them politically. Charlie Cobb, a key figure behind the initiative, once criticized the prevailing segregated educational system for stifling intellectual curiosity. He envisioned a paradigm that would enable Black students to advocate for justice using the education they received.
In 1998, following nearly thirty years after the last of the original Freedom Schools, community leaders and Teach for America alumni founded the Sunflower County Freedom Project as a response to the ongoing educational disparities.
Related: 7 realities for Black students in America, 70 years after Brown
LaToysha Brown, youthful and passionate, has roots in Indianola and herself graduated as a Freedom Fellow from the program. She understood firsthand the educational shortcomings of the local schools. “The students in Indianola do not receive adequate education,” she reflected. “When I attended, new textbooks were a rarity, and the breadth of reading material was limited. Our teachers were exceptional given the circumstances, but schools lacked essential resources.”
Conversations about the history of slavery were notably absent from her educational experience; instead, this vital subject was often condensed into just a few sentences in textbooks.
Through the Freedom Project, Brown received an education that her traditional schooling failed to provide, and now she dedicates her efforts to facilitating the same for students like Tamorris.
Addressing Educational Shortcomings
A memorable photograph of Tamorris next to a Rosa Parks statue during a field trip can be seen prominently displayed in the Freedom Project building.
Tamorris became involved with the Freedom Project during his eighth grade, an age when he began to recognize the inequities in his environment. One day at school, he observed that all his classmates and teachers were Black, prompting him to question, Where are the white students?
This question found an answer through a guest speaker at the Freedom Project: many white students in the area attend the private Indianola Academy, which was created in 1965 to perpetuate segregation. Annually, approximately 400 students are enrolled there, with the academy reportedly including a minuscule number of Black students.
For Tamorris, discovering this aspect of local segregationalism was eye-opening. Previously, he had sensed that race played a role in shaping his educational journey but lacked the vocabulary to express it. The insights from the guest speaker provided him with reassurance and validation for his experiences.
He began to connect the dots between his educational experience and the realities of racial inequality, noting the lack of mention of figures like Fannie Lou Hamer in his curriculum. The absence of discussions around significant historical events, including Juneteenth, left a void in his understanding.
As Tamorris started to grasp the systemic nature of the challenges faced in his life, he recognized that his family’s struggles with food insecurity were tied to broader economic disparities, which he boldly called out with a grin: “Screw capitalism. Capitalism is what keeps me broke.”
This reflective approach forms the crux of the Freedom Schools’ “liberatory pedagogy,” which asserts that marginalized students often already perceive injustices; they simply require the terminology and context to articulate their experiences. Brown values Tamorris’ potential, emphasizing that many students arrive with a sense that something is amiss but lack the framework to express it. “We help fill those gaps,” she stated, providing a space for students to share and connect their narratives.
On July 12, Tamorris, alongside his peers, presented projects of his choosing to family and advocates. His topic, which centered on social dominance orientation and its implications for systemic oppression, showcased his developing analytical skills.
These presentations are vital within the Freedom Project’s educational structure, encouraging students to engage with their community meaningfully. While Tamorris’ ability to critique the world suggests significant intellectual aptitude, Brown emphasizes that the essence of his learning lies in applying that knowledge toward community organizing.
Source
hechingerreport.org