Youth Activism Lead by Chicago's Freedom School

On June 16, 2007, the Chicago Freedom School officially broke new ground as the newly created school celebrated its inception at Roosevelt University located at 430 South Michigan Avenue. With summer participants in attendance, along with staff, instructors, parents, and community activists, the Chicago Freedom School realized a dream that started 3 years prior at a local meeting of minds. What started at a Girl Best Friend's Foundation meeting became a reality after hard work, planning, and the vision of people who want to have the youth voices rise to activism, social change, and empowering youth as a whole.

The idea for the Freedom school, not new, originated in the South years ago, when Civil Rights Activists created the school to address social concerns relating to the Jim Crow Laws. With schools in several locations around the country including, California, Mississippi and now Chicago. The foundation of the Freedom schools is based on dealing with social activism, change, and oppression. The idea is to utilize a diverse group of individuals to empower and inspire a new generation of thinkers and achievers. The mission of the organization is to assist the youth with independent thinking as the young participants enhanced their individual talents and gifts.

The Chicago Freedom School will open it's official doors in July 2007 and with a generous grant from the Girl Best Friend's Foundation, will impact a group of young people who will have a chance to enhance their mind sets, address social concerns, and celebrate their individuality.

This summer's participants will take classes in History, Civil Rights, Media Arts, Holistic Health, Performance Arts and Sports. Each individual "Institute" will focus on social change in addition to allowing the youth to use their collective voices to address their world through an open exchange of ideas and thoughts. Participants who will be apart of the Summer Freedom School will be between the ages of 14 - 16, the critical age of development.

During the celebration at Roosevelt University, students, parents, and staff were able to connect and their was a feeling of excitement as the date of inception nears. The Summer Freedom School will begin on July 7 and end on August 17, 2007. It will be held on site at Jones Prep High School 606 South State Street, Chicago, IL.

Additional programming for the school will occur during the year, including local Chicago Freedom School sites, year-long programming, and communiversities. The Communiversities will be an opportunity for community leaders and volunteers to become apart of the larger organization.

The Chicago Freedom School is a great addition to the Chicago youth activism scene, and will add more of a positive opportunity for young people to take an active part in their world, voice their concerns, and develop their talents and skills. The Chicago Freedom school will impact the world, not just in Chicago, but within each of the young activist's lives as they take what they've learned from the school and reach other young people.

To find out more about the Chicago Freedom School, visit www.chicagofreedomschool.com .