Welcome to Freedom School Online!
“Black history for the masses.”
Freedom School Online is a digital platform that provides transformative Black history, antiracism, and creative entrepreneurship through virtual courses, 1:1 facilitation, and speaking engagements.
In 1964, during the Civil Rights Movement in the American South, 40 freedom schools were established to achieve social, political, and economic equality in the United States for Black children. Those freedom schools taught those students how to reimagine a more just society while offering safe spaces for unsafe ideas and, in this case, unwavering (Black) histories.
Like freedom schools of the past, this educational platform offers instruction to help educate learners about the reality of racist & oppressive systems and how to respond constructively and creatively to make a more just and equitable society.
“Nobody's free until everybody's free.”
- Fannie Lou Hamer
Overview:
Transformative digital experience.
Intimate cohort and class settings.
Guidance by qualified active practitioners.
Access to valuable educational resources.
Inspiring introduction to social activism, authentic allyship, and creative entreprenurship.
Value-Add:
Gain a community of DEIA advocates.
Obtain tone-appropriate, culturally relevant, and historically sound content.
Develop skills to interpret topics related to culture, power, and humanity.
Attain tools and strategies that develop cultural humility in personal and professional settings.
Freedom School Online Offerings
Instruction
Live virtual classes
Intimate cohort
Access to educational resources
Facilitation
1:1 private bi-weekly sessions
Curated weekly reader’s digest of topical social justice articles and media
Customized educational resources
Consistent guidance and feedback
Certification
Workshops
Schedule an inspiring, tailored, informative virtual workshop with our founder, Tyree Boyd-Pates, for your:
Companies (all sizes)
Colleges & Universities
Non-profit organizations
Conferences
Unsure of which option is best to fit? Interested in bringing Freedom School Online to your institution?
Schedule an exploratory call with us here.
New Classes Available!
Discover classes on transformative Black history that highlight the value of racial justice today!
Meet our founder, instructor, & facilitator
Tyree Boyd-Pates is an experienced African American Studies professor, museum curator, historian, public speaker, and consultant whose career focuses on instructing and mobilizing communities through Black history, political education, and activism.
As a recurring instructor at universities nationally like Harvard, USC, UCLA, Spelman, Morehouse, and Spelman College, Tyree's thought leadership is highly sought after. Additionally, Time Magazine, The New York Times, Vogue, The Atlantic, Hollywood Reporter, MasterClass, History Channel, Fast Company, The LA Times, CNN, and NPR have recognized his antiracist work.
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Starting his career as a Professor of Africana Studies at California State University Dominguez Hills, Tyree taught introductory courses into the discipline and the Harlem Renaissance. After a series of successful projects, particularly regarding his digital advocacy, community building, and social media savviness, Tyree pivoted into museums as a History Curator and Public Program Manager at the California African American Museum.
Organizing multiple critically acclaimed history exhibitions that have drawn thousands, Tyree's museum curation has received recognition from Time Magazine, The New York Times, Vogue, The Atlantic, Hollywood Reporter, Fast Company, The LA Times, and NPR, among many others. Furthermore, Tyree has consulted on several significant museum exhibitions and curated festivals for the Smithsonian, Getty Museum, Broad Museum, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and The Ford.
Moreover, Tyree has also organized and facilitated popular public programming holding conversations with notable individuals like Congresswoman Maxine Waters, Academy Award-winning designer Ruth Carter, Ava DuVernay, KRS-One, Rakim, Chuck D, and Grammy Award-winning musicians Robert Glasper and Terrace Martin.
Currently, Tyree works at the Autry Museum of the American West as the Associate Curator of Western History. During the emergence of the COVID-19 Pandemic, he launched an institution-wide public-facing digital history initiative entitled the Collecting Community History Initiative (CCHI) to preserve artifacts across the Pandemic and Black Lives Matter protests. In the Spring of 2021, he taught a course regarding the same topic in the History department at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).
Furthermore, as an international speaker and leading thought leader, Tyree has keynoted, presented, and been on panels for Nike, Apple's Media Art Lab, History Channel, Masterclass, Afropunk, and MTV and has given a TEDx talk. Additionally, Tyree also regularly lectures at museums, cultural institutions, and universities like the USC, UCLA, ArtCenter College of Design, and HBCUs like Morehouse College, Spelman College, and Clark Atlanta University, offering presentations on African American history, curation, DEIA, and how to adequately create pipelines for museum curators of color within the field.
Over his career, Tyree has received numerous recognitions from the state of California for his work within American history. In 2018, he received the MLK Jr. Unsung Hero Award from the California Legislative Black Caucus. In addition, he was named one of Los Angeles' 40 Emerging Civic Leaders. In 2020, Tyree received acknowledgment from the LA County Board of Supervisors for his excellent service to the city and county. In 2021, Tyree was named a Civic Media Fellow with the Annenberg Innovation Lab at USC and an Innovation Fellow with the UCLA Luskin Center for History and Policy.
Tyree is also the principal of NOMMO Cultural Strategies, a cultural consultancy that advises top companies, organizations, and film studios regarding African American art, history, and culture.
Student Testimonials
“Professor Boyd-Pates does an excellent job of creating an inclusive space in the classroom. As a result, this is one of the only classes I have been in where EVERYONE was deeply invested in the subject.”
- Student Testimonial
“Professor BP does exceptionally well in engaging all students regardless of race to expand horizons and learn new information that might’ve been uncomfortable.”
- Student Testimonial
“Prof. Boyd Pates is the sh*t!”
- Student Testimonial
The purpose of Freedom School Online:
Inspired by the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, we believe that providing access to Black history, antiracism training, and creative entrepreneurship can unlock transformation within individuals from all walks of life. And by delivering valuable instruction, we can equip society's forthcoming change agents, advocates, and artisans to positively and professionally affect change.
We are Freedom School Online.
Why do we focus on African American history and antiracism?
According to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, only 1 to 2 lessons or 8–9% of class time is devoted to Black history in U.S. history classrooms.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, only 8% of U.S. high school seniors can identify enslavement as the leading cause of the Civil War.
According to Education Week, 17+ states have imposed laws or rules to limit how race and discrimination can be taught in public school classrooms.
According to Gallup Center, 24% of Black people in the U.S. have reported being discriminated against at work in the past year.
According to Lean In, in 2020, only 10% of Black women identified white people as their most potent allies in the workplace. Moreover, only 46% of Black women believe they have strong white supporters. Moreover, when speaking about racism, 36% of Black women experienced some retaliation from this, such as being fired or being excluded from future meetings.