Hundreds of people attended the 18th annual Empowerment Congress Summit at California State University's Dominguez Hills campus January 23, where a variety of issues were discussed, including the new Freedom Schools that are coming to Los Angeles.
As part of the event, workshops were held that touched on economic development for the Crenshaw Corridor (which will have an 8.5-mile light rail run from Crenshaw and Exposition boulevards to Aviation Boulevard near Los Angeles International Airport), and health disparities in the community.
Children's Defense Fund founder Marian Wright Edelman also discussed a partnership with Second District Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas to bring Freedom Schools to his district.
Freedom Schools are not an alternative to public schools, Edelman said before the summit, but a six-week summer and after-school program that aims to have high-quality academic enrichment; parent and family involvement; social action and civic engagement; intergenerational servant leadership development; and nutrition, physical health and mental health.
"We're doing a lot of things that children don't get otherwise," she said.
Edelman describes the program as "reading-rich" and "sponsored by community organizations and local groups that are taught by college-age students."
"In six weeks of high-quality curriculum and an exciting approach to teaching ... 80 percent of the students are having significant reading gains," she said.
Edelman said that the program emphasizes leadership development. She added that every child who attends the Freedom School learns how to engage in a civic action on an issue, and also has to engage in some type of service activity.
Five Freedom Schools are scheduled to open in the Second District this summer, said Ridley-Thomas, who along with many others helped put together the summit.
The Second District consists of close to 2.3 million people in many communities, including sections of South Los Angeles, the nearby cities of Carson, Compton and Culver City, and the unincorporated county territories of Florence, Ladera Heights, and Willowbrook, among others.
The Freedom Schools are expected to open at Agape International Spiritual Center; Grace United Methodist Church; First New Christian Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church; First New Christian Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church; United Methodist Church of Lynwood; and Empowered Life Development Center.
"The reason they were selected is because they had their own physical location ... that's conducive to a learning environment," Ridley-Thomas said.
Also, it's a highly accountable program, he said.
The Freedom School movement has annual accountability sessions where organizations must check in on an annual basis and participate in a one-week workshop.
"We are not interested in starting these projects and then they go out of business next summer," Ridley-Thomas said. "These are in for the long haul."
A total of $250,000 will be needed to start the Freedom Schools program.
Each site will have to raise $50,000 to cover various costs, including purchasing curriculum materials, administrative costs for local training and meetings, and staff positions, a representative for Ridley-Thomas said.
Chico C. Norwood is a writer for the L.A. Watts Times.
Photo of Marian Wright Edelman by Haywood Galbreath/Mpji.Org; image of Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas from ridley-thomas.lacounty.gov.
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