The first Freedom School of Benton County, founded in late summer 1964, was held at Mt. Zion CME. Students were taught voter literacy, confidence, and political activism in addition to academic subjects including black history. In the beginning, attendance was low. As parents and civil rights workers began to talk to their children, the children decided to join in with others at the Freedom School. The numbers began to improve dramatically. In the fall, a college prep class was formed and met regularly at the home of Howard and Annie Evans.
In the Mt. Zion Freedom School’s “Freedom Press,”a girl states she comes to the Freedom School because “I want to become a part of history also.”
Mississippi Freedom School Curriculum Website, http://www.educationanddemocracy.org/ED_FSC.html