Video: Freedom School teaches students about multicultural past

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SEATTLE - A multi-cultural group of Seattle students has been attending what's called Freedom School this week, learning about racism so they can break through it. They spent time learning about the past to understand how to change the future. 

They didn't go to the museums to look at artifacts, but instead to reconstruct our community's multi-cultural history to understand the hardships others suffered. 

The Freedom School brings together about 40 students, mostly from Puget Sound, to examine culture and racism with the goal of promoting change. The week began with students' brainstorming, putting their own struggles into words. 

"Racism limits my family's ability to love each other," said one student.  

"I think it's important to undo racism because everybody needs to be treated equally," said another student. 

"It's important to undo racism because racism stops people from being successful," said another. 

The students learned about the battles fought a generation ago.  Their tour included Seattle's Central District. 

"It's a totally different time than it was 30-40 years ago," explained the Central District presenter. 

The heard about Seattle in the 1960s, when rifle-totting Black Panthers patrolled the streets, they say fighting for equality. 

"It was war, it really was," he said. 

But that turmoil also brought free programs and clinics into the neighborhood. Organizers say the goal is not to glorify violence, but to understand how far we've come and how far we need to go. 

"The main point we want the young people to start thinking critically about how racism impacts their lives," said Dustin Washington, Freedom School Program Director. "We want our young people to know that history, then to take their rightful role to change the systems. 

Seattle's Freedom School is modeled after similar programs from the 1960s.