By Sheldon Greaves

I have my spouse, Denise, to thank for this one. It’s funny how something as amazing as Freedom University could have slipped beneath my personal radar for so long. But this truly deserves wider exposure. If you don’t know what this is, Freedom University is an underground learning community that assists undocumented youth acquire the intellectual tools needed to prepare for college. Most of these are DACA youth, who are nevertheless in danger or being sent “home”, previous promises of the U.S. Government notwithstanding. Readers of this blog (both of you) will know that immigration is kind of a thing with me.

This video below gives a good overview of both the organization, and what they face in the inhospitable backwater that is the state of Georgia, arguably one of the most hostile when it comes to immigration. Here are some incredibly brave, dedicated, and decent people putting themselves on the line in the face of systemic indecency. The video is about 35 minutes, but it’s worth a watch:

The Underground University

There is something utterly right and proper about an underground university, because few things are more subversive to toxic power than education. It calls to my mind how back in the late 19th century when the robber barons were founding universities in a bid for immortality. The faculties of these new schools declared their intent to put a stop to the very ills that had made nearly all of these Founders very, very rich. But since those same Founders decided who sat on the university boards, it’s not hard to guess how far those noble intentions went.

My personal vision of guerrilla scholarship are that it is inextricably connected with community. Like the guerrilla fighter, it needs the goodwill of the local community to survive. By the same token, it must serve and protect the interests of that community. The detached, disengaged “intellectual” is a relic of privilege we can no longer abide.

There is a truism that the purpose of the intellectual in society is to speak the truth to power. That’s a fine sentiment, and perhaps even true to some extent. But power already knows the truth. They know what they are doing and choose to ignore it. A more powerful role for the intellectual is to speak the truth to the powerless in a way that empowers them. Give them the mental tools, they will find their power and their freedom. Freedom University is guerrilla scholarship at its very finest.

Consider making a donation at their GoFundMe site.