Join SSJ's Open University!

Scholars for Social Justice is proud to announce the launch of six SSJ Open University sites in major cities across the United States. The project “Open University” honors a long tradition of Black freedom schools and represents our attempt to offer an alternative to the current crisis of American higher education where campuses have become corporate, extractive, and repressive. 

In a time of growing attacks on university workers and rising financial barriers, SSJ Open University sites offer dedicated space and access to free political education and radical pedagogy for everyone, especially those who have been historically excluded from higher education.

SSJ Open University Sites

  • Virtual

    Launch date

    Registration

    Downloadable Poster | Syllabus

  • Chicago

    Launch date

    Registration

    Downloadable Poster | Syllabus

  • New York City

    Launch date

    Registration

    Downloadable Poster | Syllabus

  • Philadelphia

    Launch date

    Registration

    Downloadable Poster | Syllabus

    Photo credits

  • DC and Richmond, VA

    Launch date

    Registration

    Downloadable Poster | Syllabus

  • San Francisco Bay Area

    Launch date

    Registration

    Downloadable Poster | Syllabus

  • Los Angeles

    Launch date

    Registration

    Downloadable Poster | Syllabus

In the face of ongoing authoritarian repression in the United States, the SSJ Open University initiative aims to build independent sites of study, collaborative engagement, and intellectual community. By centering communities as reservoirs of valuable knowledge, SSJ-OU aims to reimagine higher education as a critical node in the greater struggle for liberation.