Learning through Liberation, Empowering the People.

Our Initiatives

FREEdom School Saturdays

Most narrators participating in The FREE Zion Project attend FREEdom School Saturdays, where we learn Africana Studies and collect data to improve the educational lives of Zion’s community members.

Interviews and Observation

Schedule an interview to share about your experiences in rural and predominantly white schools. Or, schedule a time for a member of our reasearch team to observe you at a community event.

FREEdom Summer

During FREEdom Summers, college student Research Associates collaborate with The FREE Zion Project to understand the context of Kentucky's learning systems. Our FREEdom Summer initiative honors the Civil Rights Movement’s 1964 Freedom Summer.

Curriculum Reveals

Curriculum Reveals ensure that the research team accurately details the Zion community’s experiences in predominantly white and rural school systems, as well as their desires for The Zion FREEdom School curriculum.

Black History Programming

We believe that Black history is American history. Our Black history programming meets community members’ demands to learn more about Black history, both locally and globally. We offer Black history programming to empower the people through truth.

Eligibility

Because our initiatives are part of The FREE Zion Project research study, we require all narrators (i.e. participants) and students to meet the following criteria:

  • Eligible youth for Freedom School Saturdays at The Zion Freedom School must:

    • Be between 7 and 25 years old

    • Identify as Black or African American

    • Have attended a local school

    • Be part of the Zion community

    Freedom School Saturdays for adult Curriculum Builders who are over 25 years old concluded in August 2024. We hope to bring back Freedom School Saturdays for adults over 25 years old in a later phase of The FREE Zion Project.

  • Eligible persons to be interviewed and/or observed for The FREE Zion Project must identify as:

    • Members of the Zion community and/or Zion Grove Missionary Baptist Church congregation

    • Citizens of Meade County, Kentucky

    • Other persons affiliated with the FREE Zion Project (e.g., librarians, community archivists, researchers, historians, school stakeholders, etc.)

  • Eligible Research Associates must fulfill the following prior to joining FREEdom Summer:

    • Complete the following Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Program courses:

      • Information Privacy Security

      • Social & Behavioral Research

      • RCR Basic Course

    • Pass at least one African and African American Studies course, or courses from a similar field, with good standing

    • Demonstrate genuine interest in the field of Black Education and/or producing scholarship with Black communities by explaining how they will apply what they learned from FREEdom Summer to future goals and dreams

  • Curriculum Reveals are open to all narrators working on The FREE Zion Project who are:

    • Curriculum Builders

    • Pilots

    • Interviewees

    • Research Team Members

  • Black History Month programming is provided upon request. Contact us for additional information.

Connect With The FREE Zion Project

The FREE Zion Project

Email: thefreezionproject@gmail.com

Phone: (859) 985-3400

Facebook: @TheFREEZionProject

Dr. LeAnna Luney (PD)

Email: luneyl@berea.edu

Phone: (859) 985-3400

Independent Contact

If you are not satisfied with how this study is being conducted, or if you have any concerns, complaints, or general questions about the research or your rights as a participant, please contact Jim Strand, Administrative Assistant to the Berea College Institutional Review Board (IRB), at (859) 985-3486 or email at strandj@berea.edu.