The New York Historical
For the Ages: A History Podcast
Episode 15: Spell Freedom: The Underground Schools That Built the Civil Rights Movement
Release: March 31, 2025
Featuring: Elaine Weiss, David M. Rubenstein (moderator)
Prior to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, oppressive voter registration literacy tests disenfranchised Black voters across the United States. In direct response to these restrictions, community organizers and activists launched an underground Citizenship Schools project that helped tens of thousands of Black citizens not only learn to read and write, but how to navigate Jim Crow literacy tests and demand their right to vote. In this conversation with David M. Rubenstein, Elaine Weiss takes a deep dive into the stories of four organizers at the center of this movement: Septima Clark, Esau Jenkins, Myles Horton, and Bernice Robinson.
Recorded on February 27, 2025