The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately ravaged Black and Brown communities with devastating effects in education. The pandemic exacerbates several pre-existing realities including the elimination of Black teachers from the lives of Black students (and all students) following Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the overrepresentation of white teachers in Pennsylvania and Pittsburgh, and the suffering of Black youth within urban schools — a finding well-documented in research literature.

In 2021, the Center for Urban Education and The Grable Foundation offered six after-school enrichment experiences for students across the Pittsburgh region led by High-Impact Black Retired Teachers. These enrichment experiences were designed around the principles of the Freedom Schools and supported the development of academic skills and knowledge as well as social emotional learning and critical consciousness development.