Freedom Day Celebration “Freedom to Learn: Education as Liberation Then, Now, and Next

When:
Saturday, February 7, 2026 | 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. | Free admission, donations welcome, Rain or Shine

Where:
Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park
40 Harriet Tubman Way
Hilton Head Island, SC 29926

For More Information:
Visit exploremitchelville.org or call 843-255-7301.

Freedom to Learn: Education as Liberation Then, Now, and Next
A community gathering honoring Mitchelville’s legacy and the power of education

Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park invites the community to Freedom Day 2026—an uplifting, thought-provoking celebration honoring Mitchelville’s enduring legacy as the first self-governed town of formerly enslaved people in the United States and the first known community to require education for children in South Carolina.

This year’s theme, “Freedom to Learn: Education as Liberation Then, Now, and Next,” explores how education has served as a cornerstone of liberation, civic leadership, and self-determination—historically at Mitchelville and urgently in our world today.

Free admission. Donations welcome. Rain or Shine

Emcee
-Dr. Erica S. Taylor, Assistant Superintendent for Communications, Business & Community Partnerships, Orangeburg County School District

Remarks
-Ahmad Ward, Executive Director, Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park
-Dr. Frank Rodriguez, Superintendent, Beaufort County School District

Featured Panel Discussion

Moderator

-Dr. Deborah L. Mack, Former Director, Smithsonian National Museum of African Art

Panelists

-Ellen E. Weaver, South Carolina State Superintendent of Education

-Dr. Valerie Cave, Superintendent, Allendale County School District

-Dr. Glenda Sheffield, Superintendent, Hampton County School District

-Dr. Paulette R. Dillard, President & CEO, Shaw University

Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park will host their annual Freedom Day Celebration on Saturday, February 7, 2026, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the park on Hilton Head Island. The annual commemoration will honor Mitchelville’s enduring legacy as sacred ground and spotlight the powerful role of education as a cornerstone of liberation, civic leadership, and self-determination.

The theme for 2026, “Freedom to Learn: Education as Liberation Then, Now, and Next,” is rooted in Mitchelville’s historic commitment to learning. Freedom Day 2026 will explore how the community’s early adoption of compulsory education, one of the first in South Carolina, continues to shape conversations about access, equity, and opportunity today.

“Freedom at Mitchelville was never just an idea—it was built, governed, and taught,” said Ahmad Ward, Executive Director of Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park. “Our annual Freedom Day celebration invites our community to reflect on what it means to protect the right to learn, and how education remains one of the most enduring pathways to dignity, power, and self-determination.”