Berea College Visits the SCFP

There are many great ways to spend your spring break, and students at Berea College came up with quite a few of them. But there is nothing more fulfilling than giving back to a community that is in need. Students Christian Motley and Chris Perkins with the help of Black Cultural Center Director Tashia Bradley work to plan an Alternative Spring Break to the small rural town of Sunflower, Mississippi to help teach at a year round after school academic enrichment organization called the Sunflower County Freedom Project (Freedom Project). Sunflower County is 63% African American and has one of the lowest ranking educational systems in Mississippi which is what brought the founders if the Freedom Project to that area. Perkins a 3^rd year African and African American Studies major at Berea College who grew up in Sunflower and is a 2006 graduate of the Freedom Project said he wishes to continue to work with the Freedom Project because he believes “the freedom Project has done so much for me as a student and a person. I firmly believe I would not be at student at Berea had it not been for my involvement in the Sunflower County Freedom Project.” Perkins went on to say that he felt it was his responsibility to work to ensure that the Freedom Project continues to do the great work it does in the Mississippi Delta, “that’s why I organized this trip.”

Seeking to build corps of academically capable, socially conscious, and mentally disciplined young leader in the Mississippi Delta, the Freedom Project was founded in 1998 by Teach For America veteran Chris Myers-Asch and is modeled after the 1964 Freedom Schools of that area. Students in this program commit to the concepts of service, leadership, individuality and hard work as well as six years of Study Sessions, Saturday Schools, and six weeks of Summer Academics each summer. The ultimate goal of the Freedom Project is to help its students get into a four year institution of their choice upon high school graduation. Once students enroll in the program they are expected to attend one of four nightly study sessions a week where they do homework, work on projects, or work on assignments given by Freedom Project staff. These assignments usually are due at the Freedom Project’s weekly Saturday Schools where students work exclusively for the Freedom Project. These assignments consist of ACT/SAT prep, current events/ writing, and reading classes. In the 10 years the organization has been active in the Delta it as sent students to Howard University, University of North Carolina Chapel-Hill, Rust College, Mississippi State, Berea College, and a host of other universities.

This past Spring Break eight Berea College students and facility members traveled to the catfish ponds of the Mississippi Delta to donate their time and experiences with the staff and students of the Freedom Project. When asked what the Center needed the most the Freedom Project responded that the one thing the students and the community needed the most was a computer lad. The organization had been serving 50 students with access to less than 20 working computers. So the Berea College students set out to make their wish a reality. The group worked all semester to raise money and gather the materials needed to make their visit a success, and when it was time to depart they had gathered 6 complete desktops to take with them. A gift the Freedom accepted thankfully.

The Berea Group which consisted of students Christian Motley, Anna Rafferty, Chris Perkins, Charles Badger, Gerald Fitts, and Jedidiah Amica and Black Cultural Center Director Tashia Bradley did not stop with computers, they also participated in Study Sessions and taught the students they kinds of students that Berea College has to offer. Perkins recalls “My favorite part of the trip was no the mural we painted or the computers Anna got, it was when we were talking to the students about Berea and one of my students, Mr. Gillespie, whispered my name and said ‘Berea’ and gave me a thumbs up. I knew we were doing good work then.” The Berea Students left the Freedom Project with a clean storage room, a task easier said than done, a new mural on their ceiling, half a dozen computers and a new appreciation for Berea College. Christian Motley a senior African and African American Studies major said one of his favorite moments was when one the Freedom project students stopped him and explained how much she admired the amount of pride all the Berea students had in their school. After all the hard work was done the Berea got to experience some of the famous Delta Culture. They visited the B.B King museum, a catfish farm, and learn about the Civil Rights History of the Mississippi Delta. All in All it was a wholesome heartwarming experience.

For more information on the Sunflower County Freedom Project visit their web site at www.sunflowerfreedom.org or contact Greg McCoy 662-569-2441/ 662-736-0213.