Reprint: Mississippi’s Freedom Schools: The Politics of Education

[Editors’ abstract, 2025: In this article, Florence Howe describes the operation, purpose, and élan of a significant venture into the politics of education: the Mississippi Freedom Schools, which were organized as alternative spaces of learning in the segregated South to empower students to become active agents for social change. Drawing on her experiences teaching at a Freedom School in Jackson, Mississippi, in the summer of 1964, Howe offers rich insights into pedagogical practices and educational experiences that reject authoritarian teaching and instead seek to elevate students’ awareness of self and society. Through democratic, discussion-based learning centered on the Freedom Schools’ Citizenship Curriculum, students challenge the myths of society and engage in action to address the social realities of their time.]