What started in Mississippi 60 years ago is continuing today in Kentucky during the Freedom Summer of 1964.

Black civil rights groups set up their own alternative short term schools today in Louisville's only historically black university is using the Freedom School name and teaching students of any age race how to get more engaged in the political process.

Kentucky Editions June Leffler has more.

We have a lot of issues from poverty to violence to discrimination, and we want people to act and be a part of addressing those issues.

But before they act, they have to know how these systems work and how to change those systems.

So the Freedom School is a project to teach people just that, how government works, how you can get involved in government, who is working on making the city better, and how you can work with them on making the city better yourself.

In today's session, students are focusing on their local government with interactive lessons that center the participate and using the QR code.

Participants figure out who their city council member is.

We'll just take maybe one and a half minute or so to look at that and then we'll just share to see how many districts are represented in the room.

Does anybody live in District one.

Another activity creating a city budget?

According to the students personal priorities.

They have an interesting budget tool that they use with their citizens where people can actually go in.

It's almost like a game and change what you think the budget priorities should be.

It also shows if your city budget is in a deficit.

So we're trying to cover any and everything that we can about politics, from the city budget to bills that are being passed at the state legislator, two wars happening overseas and how that impacts us here locally in Louisville.

We're trying to cover as much as we can in these ten topics.

60 years ago, volunteers flocked to Mississippi to register black people to vote.

That's known as the Freedom Summer.

It came about because black Mississippians were being oppressed.

They were being violated against their were being violently attacked in a worst case scenario, killed because they were simply trying to vote.

Back then, the state of Mississippi under educated black kids, the original Freedom Schools were a response to that.

We hope to find and develop and mold local leadership among the young people.

Today, 17 year old McKayla Hicks and Jasmine Long take part in Louisville's Freedom School.

But I am really like into like equality and like, you know, making like the world, like kind of like an easier place for everybody.

Important things that I care about.

I care a lot about equity and a more equitable society.

So what is that like?

I care about racism and how racism is still affecting every aspect of this world, like I care about LGBTQ rights, rights for disabled people.

And like this stuff like that to make sure people are like getting the care and the resources that they need so that they can be their best selves and so that they can thrive in this world and not have to suffer about the different things that are keeping them from being able to like, truly be themselves.

Simmons College of Kentucky organizes the Freedom School.

Classes are every Tuesday in person and online.

From now until August 20th.

For Kentucky Edition, I'm June Leffler.

Freedom School Sessions will cover ten different topics at ten different Louisville metro communities enters this summer.