Freedom University (Freedom U or FU) is a modern-day Freedom School in Atlanta, Georgia. Freedom U provides tuition-free college classes to undocumented youth unable to access higher education in Georgia due to the state's out-of-state tuition requirement. The school formed in 2011 in response to the University System of Georgia's passage of a policy banning undocumented students from the state's top public universities.
For safety reasons, Freedom U students attend classes in undisclosed locations throughout Atlanta. Freedom U's liberatory curriculum emphasizes dialogue, participatory decision-making, and understanding personal immigrant experiences within the broader context of the civil rights movement and history of human rights struggle. The public activism undertaken by Freedom U students, faculty, and allies has resulted in many universities committing to admit and provide scholarships for undocumented students.
History
Four University of Georgia (UGA) professors founded Freedom U in 2011 after the Jessica Colotl controversy ignited state and national debates over the educational rights of young undocumented people. Many Georgians felt undocumented students threatened the admission of U.S. citizens to its universities. The University System of Georgia Board of Regents (USG BOR) summarized three concerns: "that the University System was being swamped by thousands of undocumented students, that Georgia taxpayers were subsidizing the education of these students through in-state tuition, and that undocumented students were taking seats in college from academically qualified Georgians".
In response to those concerns, during the summer of 2010, a USG BOR committee reviewed all 310,000 students enrolled in University System of Georgia institutions in the fall, and "found only 501 undocumented students enrolled in the system, with all paying out-of-state tuition, which is set at the full cost of instruction". The USG BOR then passed Policies 4.1.6 and 4.3.4 in 2011. Policy 4.1.6 banned undocumented students from the state's top public universities. At the time of passage, this included Georgia Tech, Georgia State University, University of Georgia, Augusta University, and Georgia College & State University. Policy 4.3.4 required institutions to "verify lawful presence," ensuring no undocumented persons received in-state tuition benefits. The USG BOR's ban began the year the University of Georgia celebrated 50 years of an integrated student body.
Founding and early years, 2011-2014
Freedom U opened in Athens, Georgia, on October 9, 2011, as a direct response to legislative actions to exclude undocumented students from access to Georgia's public universities. Founding faculty began consulting with local undocumented students, community leaders, and various local and national activists and organizations, including Atlanta's Georgia Undocumented Youth Alliance and Athens' Economic Justice Coalition. After hearing from affected youth that they most desired to be continuing their education, the professors decided to open a school. Professors and students came up with the name Freedom University to honor the history of Southern Freedom Schools and their instrumental role in the civil rights movement.
Classes took place on Sundays in undisclosed donated spaces throughout Athens because the KKK had threatened the fledgling school. Members of the UGA and Athens communities arranged transportation and raised money for textbooks.
Writer Junot Diaz sat on the advisory board of this first incarnation of Freedom University, helping to publicize its existence and mission on the national stage. By spring 2014, all four founding professors ceased being involved with Freedom University, three of the four leaving for posts at Ivy League universities.
Move to Atlanta and growth, 2014-present
In the summer of 2014, Laura Emiko Soltis, a human rights activist-scholar who had just received her PhD from Emory, became Freedom University's first Executive Director. That summer Freedom University relocated to Atlanta to be more centrally located to the majority of the state's undocumented population. The move also allowed Freedom U to call on Atlanta's long history and infrastructure of civil rights movement community.
Under Soltis's leadership, Freedom University adopted a human rights framework and student-centered activist direction. Freedom U classes also took on a more formal structure. Soltis expanded the curriculum to include more arts classes and college preparatory instruction as well as mental health counseling. During this time, the school grew from serving 30 to 40 enrolled students.