Liberated Young
An initiative for Black parents, educators, and communities of color seeking liberation through learning.
Education for liberation. Learning as liberation. As a means, a vehicle to liberation. I can’t pinpoint exactly when I began to understand this is what it was. The phrases and concepts now feeling like a cobbled mix of things I’ve read, personal experiences, feelings I’ve struggled to articulate, and new ideas that have come from it all. But that’s where I am today. Liberation. And reimagining education as a way for us, for Black people to get free.
Learning, as I’m beginning to understand now more than ever, is lifelong. Along with its close cousins unlearning and relearning. As a Black mother determined to raise free Black children, I’ve found myself in this very position. A season of unraveling and unlearning. But specifically, what I’m thinking about here, with Liberated Young, is our young people. How we educate them. What that education looks like, and likewise, what it doesn’t. And how by choosing something different than what’s currently in place for us, for them, we can truly become free.
For some time now, I’ve shied away from sharing these thoughts and experiences. I’ll admit, being in a space of dismantling everything I’ve believed in in search of something that fits better, something that aligns better with who I am and what I want has been disorienting. Who am I to tell you how things could be, how we can do things differently when not so long ago, I was doing those very same things myself. Schooling has taught us that we must be experts in order to share, but as I’m learning through deschooling and conversations with mentors in this space, experience is just as important as expertise.
The more I journey with my children and liberate myself, the more I understand the importance of my voice, my experiences, my words. I understand it when I post photos of my Black boys living and learning and meet curious Black mothers who want to know more. I understand it when I write essays and op-ed’s and find words of affirmation and encouragement in my inbox. And I understand it when I share stories of Black children reading, playing chess, or following their natural passions and meet resistance from white people about the ability and possibilities of young Black children. Sharing this journey, this perspective, is essential.
In true form, as I ask you to join me on this journey of continuing to deschool, unlearn, and liberate our young people, I’m compelled to remind you that I don’t have all the answers. Maybe at some point during this journey, that feeling will fade as we become free together. For now, I’ll accompany my invitation with what I hope you can expect here: personal essays, resources on homeschool, exploration of self-directed education, and what I’m learning along the way.
Liberated Young is an initiative for Black parents, educators, and communities of color seeking liberation through learning. Subscribe for insights on homeschool, self-directed education, and getting free. Learn more about our work at: www.liberatedyoung.com.