It was Vicki Olivares’ third year in college at Cal State Dominguez Hills when a counselor asked if she was looking for a summer job working with kids. She said yes, thinking it would be an easy job watching children play. But she quickly realized it was so much more.
In college, Alfreca Howard’s major was Africana Studies. Since then she has fully embraced her culture and does everything she can to make sure her 11-year-old son, Ausar, knows and understands Black history. So when she came across a literacy and cultural enrichment program that kept the legacy of civil rights leader and human rights activist Ella Baker alive, she knew her son had to be a part of it.
As summer winds down and students start heading back to school, I wanted to remember the Freedom Schools in New York City this summer that were full of fun, fellowship and freedom! From Red Hook all the way to the Bronx, Freedom Schools served over 400 young people ages 5 to 18 years old.
On July 18th, our NYC Freedom Schools, took to the streets of the city for a common cause: voter registration. Freedom schools are CDF’s summer literacy programs modeled on the principles of the civil rights movement.
