In 2016, the Detroit Independent Freedom School Movement (DIFS) was established out of the need for positive educational activities for children of the dismantled Detroit Public Schools (DPS). The movement was organized by Detroit community members who created grassroots organizations in response to decades of destruction created by State Emergency Management. This empirical ethnographic study explored the historical evolution of freedom schooling and how volunteers empower residents with community education in Detroit, Michigan. Through a narrative inquiry of volunteer community organizers, the analysis explored the use of Afrocentric methods as a means for political resistance while grounding the experience in a critical lens of Afrocentric Theory.
","abstract_html":"<p>In 2016, the Detroit Independent Freedom School Movement (DIFS) was established out of the need for positive educational activities for children of the dismantled Detroit Public Schools (DPS). The movement was organized by Detroit community members who created grassroots organizations in response to decades of destruction created by State Emergency Management. This empirical ethnographic study explored the historical evolution of freedom schooling and how volunteers empower residents with community education in Detroit, Michigan. Through a narrative inquiry of volunteer community organizers, the analysis explored the use of Afrocentric methods as a means for political resistance while grounding the experience in a critical lens of Afrocentric Theory.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Evans, Micala Darcel"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Open Access Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Teacher Education","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Joe Bishop, Ph.D.","Ethan Lowenstein, Ph.D.","Ronald Woods, J.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2021,"date_issued":"2021-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2021-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:17:40Z","subjects":["Freedom school","community education","Afrocentric education","community organizing","African American Studies","Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1109","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Joe Bishop, Ph.D.","Ethan Lowenstein, Ph.D.","Ronald Woods, J.D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Evans, Micala Darcel"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2022-01-31T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Teacher Education"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Freedom school","community education","Afrocentric education","community organizing","African American Studies","Education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1109"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["In 2016, the Detroit Independent Freedom School Movement (DIFS) was established out of the need for positive educational activities for children of the dismantled Detroit Public Schools (DPS). The movement was organized by Detroit community members who created grassroots organizations in response to decades of destruction created by State Emergency Management. This empirical ethnographic study explored the historical evolution of freedom schooling and how volunteers empower residents with community education in Detroit, Michigan. Through a narrative inquiry of volunteer community organizers, the analysis explored the use of Afrocentric methods as a means for political resistance while grounding the experience in a critical lens of Afrocentric Theory.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Resistance, education, and rites: An ethnographic study on Afrocentric community education"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Joe Bishop, Ph.D.","Ethan Lowenstein, Ph.D.","Ronald Woods, J.D."],"dc:creator":["Evans, Micala Darcel"],"dc:date.available":["2022-01-31T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["In 2016, the Detroit Independent Freedom School Movement (DIFS) was established out of the need for positive educational activities for children of the dismantled Detroit Public Schools (DPS). The movement was organized by Detroit community members who created grassroots organizations in response to decades of destruction created by State Emergency Management. This empirical ethnographic study explored the historical evolution of freedom schooling and how volunteers empower residents with community education in Detroit, Michigan. Through a narrative inquiry of volunteer community organizers, the analysis explored the use of Afrocentric methods as a means for political resistance while grounding the experience in a critical lens of Afrocentric Theory.
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