A Historical Narrative of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee's Freedom Schools and Their Legacy for Contemporary Youth Leadership Development Programming
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Antioch University AURA - Antioch University Repository and Archive Student & Alumni Scholarship, including Dissertations & Theses Dissertations & Theses 2012 A Historical Narrative of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee's Freedom Schools and their Legacy for Contemporary Youth Leadership Development Programming Leslie K. Etienne Antioch University - PhD Program in Leadership and Change Follow this and additional works at: https://aura.antioch.edu/etds Part of the African American Studies Commons, American Studies Commons, Educational Methods Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Etienne, L. K. (2012). A Historical Narrative of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee's Freedom Schools and their Legacy for Contemporary Youth Leadership Development Programming. https://aura.antioch.edu/etds/6 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student & Alumni Scholarship, including Dissertations & Theses at AURA - Antioch University Repository and Archive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations & Theses by an authorized administrator of AURA - Antioch University Repository and Archive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. A HISTORICAL NARRATIVE OF THE STUDENT NONVIOLENT COORDINATING COMMITTEE’S FREEDOM SCHOOLS AND THEIR LEGACY FOR CONTEMPORARY YOUTH LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMING LESLIE K. ETIENNE A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Ph.D. in Leadership and Change Program of Antioch University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy March, 2012 Copyright 2012 Leslie K. Etienne All rights reserved This is to certify that the dissertation entitled: A HISTORICAL NARRATIVE OF THE STUDENT NONVIOLENT COORDINATING COMMITTEE’S FREEDOM SCHOOLS AND THEIR LEGACY FOR CONTEMPORARY YOUTH LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT prepared by Leslie K. Etienne is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Leadership and Change. Approved by: ____________________________________________________________________ Stewart Burns, Ph.D., Chair date ____________________________________________________________________ Philomena Essed, Ph.D., Committee Member date ____________________________________________________________________ Carter J. Savage, Ph. D., Committee Member date ____________________________________________________________________ Wesley Hogan, Ph.D., External Reader date Dedication For Jean-Joseph Michel Etienne Acknowledgements This entire process has involved some of the greatest friends and family that a man can ever have. So it is with this in mind that I thank the following groups and individuals. Dr. Matt Smith for telling me to “turn that application in,” the faculty and staff of Antioch University Ph.D. in Leadership and Change, and most notably my advisor Philomena Essed, who has been my rock of Gibraltar throughout my time in the program; Dr. Carolyn Kenny for making the first year a real experience and remaining a stalwart supporter and wise, kind, mentor; Dr. Jon Wergin for saying on the first day of our first Yellow Springs residency that “this isn’t a cruel joke, you are all meant to be here”; and Dr. Stewart Burns for chairing my committee without even knowing me, and being a role model, friend, and father figure. I would also like to thank Dr. Carter Savage for sticking with me throughout my final Antioch years, and my Chapter brother Dr. Joseph L. Jones for always answering the phone when I needed advice. Further, I want to thank Drs. Sabrina and Gus Jordan for always supporting and encouraging my Ph.D. journey. Big thanks to the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Inc. Pi Sigma (my home, RT bruhs for life) and Tau (my adopted home) for producing some of the most dynamic and influential men that I am proud to know. Alonzo and Cory I appreciate you both more than you will ever know. Also thanks to my LB’s Marvin Allen and Ben Walker for kicking off the fundraising efforts, and all of the bruhs that donated precious funds for my tuition, I could not have made it here without you. My other countless wonderful friends like Rod Austin, Courtney Williams, and Bianca Brown, I am very thankful for your ability to help me stay grounded. Thanks also to my academic foundations, from Dayton Catholic Elementary, Redford High School, Philander Smith College, Clark Atlanta i University, and Troy University as well as all of my classmates and teachers from these places. Many thanks are also due to Peace Corps and the members of GUY 3, with whom I served in Guyana, South America, thank you for helping me shape a sense of purpose in the world and my dear old friend from those days, Mike Kim, one of most genuine people I have ever known. For my siblings, Florence, Denise, and Andre, I have always strived to be the person you all worked so hard to make me. I hope that you are proud and I love you dearly. The McGill Family, the Highlander Research and Education Center and especially Tufara Waller Mohammed for being a great friend and supporter (Ninjas for life!), Susan Williams for giving me access to the archives!!!, Pam McMichael for “putting that tractor in rode gear!” and Elandria Williams for giving me the honor of working in the Seeds of Fire Camp. Thanks to all of the Etienne family and cousins Ernie Nicolas, Linda, and Edwarde, you all are the greatest, also to cousins Brian Alleyne, and Princley Dorfuille. Special thanks to my Auntie Maureen Alleyne for welcoming me into a family I never had the chance to know. Much love always to Solonia, Natalie, Nicole Bien Aime, and Montinique Watts. To all of the folks at International Community School, most notably, Dr. Laurent Ditmann, Erick Muhumuza, Ann McKenzie, Brandon “Merlin” Davis, Peg Geronimo, Bill and Mary Moon, Edna Wright, my dear dear sisters Nicole Tendon and Yung Hee Kim all the kids!!!! and all of the after school family at ICS. Thanks to my favorite writers, Gillian Lee Fong, Rollie Gray, and Eddie Mutabazi. Special thanks is also given to my editor and brother Chris Watkins. Further, to my “House of Mirrors” crew, J and Malik who have helped me through my entire graduate school experience since 2003. Tia Harmon, a fellow sufferer. GREAT BIG THANKS to: April Russ (for scanning the hard copies of my appendix material for me), Eddie Moise, ii Lester Lowery, Archie Nimmer, Sherry Forbes, Butch and Jennifer Allen, Bryant K. Smith, My ace dog Tony Peevy, Greg “Tap” Lawson (together we form Captain Terrible and Incredibly Ridiculous), Jeremy “DJ Buzzkill” Clark, My ADP Ed McClain, Demetric “Big Chopps” Howard, My DP John McAllistar, Lamaw Aaron, Everette James, Gary Townsend, Tahisha Edwards (Who doesn’t let me get away with anything!), Manny Borges, Terance Madden Esq., Angus Wilson, Timon Edwards, Nick and Joy Adeleke, Johnny George, M.D., L.P. Green, Kelvin Hall, John Varner, Reggie Harris, Capt. Adrian C. Nickeyson, DJ McCord, and Lamont Geddis. Also love to my Mother, Beatrice Etienne. Lawrence Neville Henry. The many mentors in my life past and present Coach Marvin Miles, Sheldon Powe, William Vaughn, Vernon Lane, Deanna Lilly, Arlene Parker Goldson, Bobby King, Dr. Melvina King, Dr. Walter Fluker, Dr. Loretta Davenport, and Ruby Burgess. To Carlton Ford, whose light was dimmed far too early, I will always miss you brother, RIP. Finally to all the kids I have had the great pleasure of coming in contact with, thank you for inspiring me. Also thanks to my “children,” Brenda Narvaez, Bashir Jaden, and Jamal Spearmen, all of whom I am very proud to know. There are likely a great many people that I have missed here, but please know that I am very thankful and charge your exclusion in these acknowledgments to my head and not my heart. iii Abstract During what became known as the Mississippi Freedom Summer of 1964, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) established alternative temporary summer “Freedom Schools” in communities throughout the state. SNCC was a civil rights organization led by young, mostly African American college students and ex- students that worked against racial discrimination during the Civil Rights Movement. In 1963, they were poised to lead Freedom Summer, a massive effort that aimed to transform the brutal white dominated power structure of Mississippi, a stronghold of extremely violent southern racism. During the planning for Freedom Summer, SNCC field secretary Charles Cobb suggested that the summer project add Freedom Schools as a component for Mississippi’s underserved black youth to go along with the mass voter rights and anti-discrimination efforts being planned. The unique aspect of the Freedom Schools would be that the curriculum went beyond the traditional school subjects by utilizing discussion as a way to form critical questions about Mississippi’s social, political and economic structure. The questioning attitude would then be utilized to motivate the students to participate in voter registration drives and civil disobedience with the purpose of exposing them to their own importance in the fight for social change. This dissertation focuses on capturing the narrative story of the Freedom School’s origins, planning, and daily operations as they relate to servant leadership, group-centered leadership, and leadership while under extreme duress. The narrative story will then be used to identify the Freedom School’s legacy as a model for contemporary youth leadership development programming in school-aged out of school (after school)