A historical monument commemorating the Four Holes Freedom School will be unveiled on Saturday, January 25 at 11:00 a.m., 1125 Ridge Road, Ridgeville, S.C. The Freedom School is the last school for Native Americans in South Carolina prior to public school integration. The monument, approved by The South Carolina Department of Archives and History, will be installed at the site where a building was donated as a school for Native children.
During the 1968-69 school year, when Dorchester County Schools had been integrated, Native American children were denied admission due to overcrowding. Parents and community activist led by Victoria DeLee appealed for assistance to Dr. Ralph Abernathy, President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). John Reynolds, a staff member for SCLE was assigned to the area.
During an eight- or nine-month period of marches and demonstrations resulting in many arrests of parents and activists, Native children attended The Freedom School. The school was staffed by volunteer teachers from New York and New Jersey along with student volunteers from The University of South Carolina. The issue was resolved and students were admitted to Dorchester County Schools during the 1970-71 school year.
Former students who attended The Freedom School and staff members who taught have been invited to attend the unveiling.
Chief of the Edisto Natchez-Kusso Tribe, John Glenn Creel said “I am so grateful that our elders fought for our rights to attend public schools. I have been the beneficiary through my education at The College of Charleston that allowed me to teach in the public schools before I was admitted to medical school.”
