Our Impact

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Our Impact

Freedom Summer Every May, we have college interns come to Sunflower to help teach reading, rhetoric and math. Fellows read civil rights-based novels; they take drama, dance, or art; and they participate in fitness activities! Students also go on camping trips to Selma and Birmingham. We end our summer with a week-long immersive experience on different college campuses each summer.

Core Academic Support Our program is rooted in the belief that "education is the seed of freedom" and our students deserve the best education. Each day our staff tutors students during study session. Our Fellows participate in Novel Studies, where they read three extra novels than their peers each year. Our high school students begin preparing for college in 9th grade by applying to summer opportunities at Yale, Phillips Exeter and Phillips Andover and working with staff to take challenging courses. We also provide ACT Prep classes for students both in the school year and summer.

Character Development Throughout the year, our Freedom Fellows work on developing into socially-conscious leaders. From maintaining eye contact, to having a firm handshake, our Fellows know how important it is to make a good impression and to continuously work on being a strong leader. We also have a Student Council where members help students with conflict resolution through peer mediation and restorative justice techniques.

Health Training Being healthy in the Mississippi Delta is extremely difficult. Access to fresh foods is limited and sidewalks almost nonexistent. We work with students to promote health living by promoting physical fitness and healthy eating habits. We also provide Fellows with opportunities to participate in healthy living cooking classes taught by a local chef. Freedom Fellows also know that only "LEAD foods" - or healthy foods - are acceptable to eat in building. That means no soda, candy or junk food!

Educational Travel If you ask Freedom Fellows what they're favorite part of the program is, most are likely to say "the trips!" You will find our vans travelling across the mid-south to provide students with rich and meaningful experiences wherever we go. Each year, we visit area colleges and civil rights museums & monuments. Our trip has taken us to Atlanta, GA; Birmingham, AL; Urbana-Champaign, IL; Nashvillie, TN; New Orleans, LA; Berea, KY; and Houston, TX.

Arts Enrichment Although public schools have been forced to cut enrichment programs, we fully believe that arts are integral to a young person’s development. Our Fellows participate in drama, speech & debate, visual arts, and photography. They also experience the arts through local & professional performances and art exhibits. Our students write and publish a Literary Magazine every year.

Annual Reports

Each fall we summarize and reflect on the past year's programming and student results. We want to know if we are succeeding in serving the students of Sunflower County and achieving our mission.

2015-2016

Annual Report for the 2015-2016 School Year & Freedom Summer 2016.

featured Alumni

Lukendric Washington is a 2007 SCFP graduate and the first Freedom Fellow to attend law school! He received his Bachelors degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a degree in tax law from Florida A&M, and a masters of law from the University of Miami. He first became interested in law when Shawn Raymond, Sunflower co-founder, took Luke around to see his own practice. The Freedom Project inspired Lukendric to be himself and reach beyond his own boundaries. He hopes to one day open his own practice in Mississippi and protect low-income clients from violations of due process, something he became aware of growing up in the Delta. The most valuable advice he says he could give to current Freedom Fellows is to stick with the program no matter what.

Primus Apolonio graduated from the Freedom Project in 2014 and he is currently studying Strength and Conditioning at Henderson State University. During his time as a Freedom Fellow he has participated in all aspects of the program including drama performances/tours, and a summer internship in Washington D.C. The Freedom Project encouraged Primus to be more outspoken and to display his leadership skills not only in his community but wherever he goes. From his many experiences with the program, he says that the Freedom Project is more than just an after-school/summer program, but it is an opportunity to get a perspective of the world outside of Mississippi and to gain the necessary skills needed to be successful.

Kenyon King graduated from the Freedom Project in 2012 and studied Finance and International Business at American University. Kenyon devotes his drive to explore internationally to the Freedom Project, which exposed him to the world beyond the Mississippi Delta, a rare experience for students his age. Lao-tzu's famous quote, "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." was a permanent fixture at Sunflower during Kenyon's time as a Freedom Fellow, and such values have remained with him still as he progressed through his college career and now as a young professional. He urges current Freedom Fellows to stay open-minded to new experiences and to welcome opportunities to reach beyond their comfort zone.

LaToysha Brown grew up in Indianola, graduated from the SCFP in 2014, and graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2018. She majored in sociology with a minor in Black studies with the hopes of working to combat educational inequality in the MS Delta. For LaToysha, the SCFP created a safe environment where she was able to openly express her womanist, Pan Africanist, and Black Nationalist beliefs. She was able to develop as a social justice activist and successful leader. The SCFP also provided performing arts opportunities for LaToysha, which were not available at her school. She was heavily involved in drama, discovered poetry and fell deeply in love with both. Ms. Brown was able to travel and see different worlds outside of the MS Delta with the Freedom Project, which broaden her understanding of economic and the social systems. When LaToysha was asked to sum up her SCFP experience, she reflects and says, "I would not have had the chance to have an in-depth learning experience if it was not for the SCFP"

All Alumni

Every year, we graduate a cohort of 4-6 high school seniors and help them in their college application process - which truly began six years earlier when they first joined the Freedom Project. With a full-time staff of three, we serve 35-40 students per night. Below is a list of all of the Freedom Fellows who have graduated with the SCFP.

Christopher Perkins, Class of 2006: Berea College

Jasmine Harvey, Class of 2006: Berea College

Rokeshia Ross, Class of 2006: Rust College

Candace Durn, Class of 2006: Mississippi State University

Lukendric Washington, Class of 2007: UNC Chapel Hill, Florida A&M Law

Tambrinikia Gordon, Class of 2008: United States Army/Delta State University

Arquavious Gordon, Class of 2008: Louisiana State University

Cornesha Ward, Class of 2008: Howard University

Corey Johnson, Class of 2008: Jackson State University

Bryan Tucker, Class of 2008: Northwest Community College

Shaquille Leflore, Class of 2009: University of Southern Mississippi

April Hannah, Class of 2009: University of Southern Mississippi