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On Wednesday, July 18, hundreds of local youth participating in the Children's Defense Fund's Freedom Schools' "Day of Action" program lobbied outside the Louisville office of Congressman John Yarmouth and at a local Health Fair on behalf of a children's health care initiative before the U.S. Congress.
The youth have been attending two Louisville Freedom School sites this summer at the Presbyterian and St. George's community centers. On Wednesday, they joined more than 120 Freedom School sites nationwide as part of this national health care campaign. The Freedom School is an award winning after-school and summer program that annually includes a Social Action Day to teach youth how to engage in social justice activities. The program is organized to give the youth a voice and an opportunity to stand up to injustices in their community. This year, with Congress preparing to reconsider the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), Freedom School participants were asked to lobby their local elected officials for health care coverage for all children.
Click here to view photo album by Don Vish
St. George's Community Center, adjoining St. George's Episcopal Church in western Louisville, offered the Freedom School Program for the first time this summer to the youth from the Parkland-Duvall neighborhood. The free, five-week summer program for youth ages 6-17 years old sets high expectations in learning and helps young people get excited about learning and reading while boosting their self esteem. It also gives young people a platform to make a difference in their communities through social action. Highly trained college students and qualified teachers direct the two Louisville Freedom Schools.
As part of the Social Action Day event, the 130 local youth demonstrated one of the Freedom School’s signature practices called "Harambee," a ritual of chanting and dancing (Harambee is Kiswahili for "Let's pull together"). They also passed out handbills and voter registration cards and presented letters to Yarmuth's office.
They then went to the Presbyterian Community Center, 731 S. Hancock St., to participate in a Health Fair in collaboration with the Harambee Nursing Clinic, Passport Insurance, and American Red Cross.
The Freedom School program has been so successful at St. George’s that Cox said that plans are already underway to integrate its concepts and curriculum into St. George’s year-round programming and the center is also planning to offer the summer program next year.
The center’s success has not gone unnoticed, and its staff has already received accolades from a Freedom School evaluator, who spent an entire day last week visiting the St. George’s site, according to executive director Arthur Cox.
“Her remarks were, and I quote, ‘This is an outstanding Freedom School Site. I am truly amazed at the fact that this is your first year and you have every component fully engaged and thriving…. This is clearly the best site I've visited thus far, and be prepared because I am recommending your site to go to National Debrief,’" he reported.
Most of her positive remarks were about the staff, he said, noting that she informed him that "it is rare to have the type of chemistry you have created amongst your staff, everybody is committed, organized, thoughtful and prepared.” She also noticed, Cox said, that the staff members’ love for the children is “reflective in the eyes, hearts and voices of your youth.”
