All Together Now: Freedom School in Photos
June 29, 2018
The jubilant sounds of Harambee echo beyond the brick walls of the Ada Jenkins Center gymnasium, where Davidson students lead a six-week literacy program designed to empower children and create lifelong learners.
The raucous Harambee, a hallmark of the Freedom Schools program, combines reading, singing and dancing. Afterward, Freedom School scholars, who range in grade from kindergarten through eighth, leave the gymnasium energized and ready for classroom sessions, field trips and whatever else the day might hold.
The Freedom Schools program, based on the Mississippi Freedom Summer project of 1964, was developed by the Children's Defense Fund (CDF) in 1995 to address equity issues within the U.S. education system.
The program's curriculum, according to the CDF, integrates reading, conflict resolution and social action while promoting social, cultural, and historical awareness, to help children fall in love with reading, increase their self-esteem and generate more positive attitudes toward learning,
In 2005, Davidson College became the first higher education institution to sponsor a Freedom Schools program.
Guests from the community join the scholars each morning to read to them and participate in Harambee. This photo slideshow captures Davidson College President Carol Quillen's recent visit.
360 Video
Grab your smartphone, turn up the volume and get ready to move with the action as President Carol Quillen and Davidson College students lead the way in this special 360-degree video from the June 27 Freedom School Harambee (a Kiswahili word meaning "let's pull together") at the Ada Jenkins Center.
