Iterations of freedom schooling—makeshift, free, and temporary schools—created for and by the Black community have existed since enslavement. However, Freedom Schools took on new forms and life during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, when groups like the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee developed Freedom Schools across the South aimed at fostering social change and voter registration.
Since then, Freedom Schools have been a vital part of the Black intellectual and activist tradition, helping community members share resources, exchange information, and engage in popular education. The Archiving Activism team holds Freedom Schools aimed at helping students, organizers, and community members in Austin and beyond learn how to preserve and collect their archives and provide the tools needed to begin creating their own digital archives.