One Tribe Family Freedom School

The One Tribe Family Freedom School is an enrichment program offered online free of cost two Saturdays a month youth ages 3 to 18, their parents, and community members. While the Freedom School is open to all, it exists for Black, Brown, and Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC). Freedom Schools originated in the 1960s as a network of alternative schools offering Black middle and high school students in Mississippi an education grounded in academics, activism, and racial justice. The Freedom School’s name, One Tribe, is inspired by the powerful words of Coates (2015) and his portrayal of the social construction of race as the washing of disparate tribes. While race is a mirage, BIPOC are bound by their common experience of marginalization, and exertion of power in the margins. In the Freedom School, BIPOC coalesce as one tribe that moves in unison to ensure freedom and justice for those denied human rights. 

The mission of the Freedom School is to provide a humanizing and empowering community for BIPOC that pursues racial, education, and healing justice. The vision of the Freedom School is to engage BIPOC communities in: 

• cultural revitalization

• decolonization & empowerment

• academic enrichment

• postsecondary, career, and life preparedness

• physical & mental health

• community empowerment

Our future vision is to create a pipeline and funding opportunities for BIPIC youth, parents, and community members for postsecondary and career options and access to wrap-around services including public health, mental health, and social service. 

The Freedom School is jointly developed by the Righteous Rage Institute (RRI), the University of Denver Interdisciplinary Research Institute for the Study of (in)Equality (IRISE), the Black Child Development Institute (BCDI), and Denver Public Schools educators. Collectively, these BIPOC partners bring the community, cultural, technical, and intellectual capital needed to fulfill the mission of the One Tribe Family Freedom School.