Public Education

The Chicago Freedom School offers several public education opportunities for youth and adult activists to be lifelong learners.  Through Communiversity courses, workshops on social movement history and other public programs, CFS provides spaces for community members to examine the history of social justice movements and to learn about current issues in a historical context.  This critical study of the past provides a platform for more thoughtful action and organizing in the present.

Communiversity

The Communiversity initiative features multi-week courses on the history of social movements and community organizing campaigns.

Join the Chicago Freedom School and Project Nia for a series of free workshops March – June 2013 addressing aspects of the Prison Industrial Complex. Registration at Project Nia’s site.

Communiversity Series: Understanding the Prison Industrial Complex.

prison resistance

April 27: Understanding the Criminalization of Youth 101, 1 – 4:30 PM

The goal fo this workshop is to increase awareness of the systematic criminalization of young people, specifically youth of color in Chicago, and to address the myths of “criminal youth” to prevent young people from being victimized by it. Participants will leave with a better understanding of the individual and social forces that lead to the hyper-criminalization of youth of color in Chicago. Facilitated by Mariame Kaba, founder and director of Project Nia.

May 18: Policing, Violence, Resistance, and Alternatives, 1 – 4:30 PM

This workshop focuses on the history of policing and violence in the U.S. It also invites participants to consider viable alternatives to our current reliance on policing to solve social problems.

June 29: Understanding the Juvenile Justice System, 1 – 4:30 PM

This workshop provides an introduction to community members who want to better understand the various components of the juvenile justice system and will provide local resources for those who want to refer youth in trouble with the law.

Movement History Workshops

CFS staff and volunteers work together to develop 1 – 3 hour workshops for youth ages 13 – 21 on the history of social movements.  Currently, we offer workshops on the following topics:

  • The History of Voting and Voting Disenfranchisement in the U.S. (for youth)
  • Lifelong Activism:  A Study of Ella Baker (for youth)
  • History of Freedom Schools (for activists and educators)

Contact us at info@chicagofreedomschool.org if you are interested in CFS facilitating a movement history workshop for your classroom or organization.

Public Programs

CFS hosts a variety of public programs for intergenerational audiences throughout the year including film screenings and community dialogues.  Please check back to website regularly to stay updated on upcoming programs.

Lending Library

The Chicago Freedom School maintains a lending library for youth and adult activists and educators across the city. A current list of CFS holdings can be found at our LibraryThing account here.

All individual members and membership organizations have free access to the library.  Learn more about membership on the membership page.  A deposit is required of all other supporters. The cost is $5.00 for youth age 21 and under and $20.00 for those over age 21.  If you are interested in becoming a CFS library member, please complete and send in the Library Patron Form.