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Public officials visit LA summer school inspired by civil rights movement
File photo: Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas
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Public officials visit LA summer school inspired by civil rights movement
Public officials visit LA summer school inspired by civil rights movement
L.A. Unified Superintendent John Deasy and County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas are set to visit a summer program today that has roots in the civil rights movement of 50 years ago.
Decades ago in the American South, literacy standards were used to keep African-Americans from voting. Alternative “freedom schools” were established during the civil rights movement to provide blacks with the education they needed and were otherwise denied.
Aaron Burleson helps run a modern school that pays homage to the tradition. He says instructors at the Freedom School near USC help students use reading to connect to the world around them.
"So the first week starts off with 'I can make a difference in myself,' followed by 'I can make a difference in my family,' followed by 'I can make a difference in my community,'" says Burleson.
Five Freedom Schools offer summer literacy programs in L.A. County. They run six-hour, daily summer programs through next week.
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