The Gap Freedom School

For Us, By Us: Why Riverside Needs the GAP Freedom School and the Unfiltered Room
Riverside’s Black community is facing a crisis of silence. Too many gatherings without substance, too many young people drifting in uncertainty, and too many lives lost to suicide. We can no longer pretend these are isolated tragedies. The truth is clear: before we can help anyone else, we must help ourselves.
The suicide rate in the Black community has been climbing, and our youth are feeling the weight of disconnection and loss of identity. They are searching for meaning in a world that too often denies their worth. Meanwhile, our response has been muted — as if silence could shield us from the pain. But that silence is costing us lives.
That’s why the Unfiltered Room was created. It is not a polite roundtable. It is a space where we confront hard truths without apology. Where accountability is demanded and healing is possible. In the Unfiltered Room, nothing is off limits, because survival requires honesty. It is a space built for us, by us.
From that urgency, the GAP Freedom School was born. This Saturday's program is more than education it is a cultural lifeline. Rooted in Black history and identity, it is designed to restore pride, build resilience, and give both youth and adults the tools to stand firm in a society that tries to erase them. It is where healing meets teaching, and where the seeds of liberation are planted.
Session 1 begins Saturday, November 15, 2025, from 10 AM to 2 PM at 1445 Spruce St. Ste. A in Riverside. Lunch will be served. Ages 13 to 99. For us, by us.

This is not charity work. It is not a side project. It is survival. Our people cannot afford to keep waiting for someone else to invest in us. The GAP Freedom School and the Unfiltered Room are investments we are making in ourselves unapologetically.
The message is simple: everything we are building is for us, by us. Because no one else will.
Email [email protected] to save your seat.

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