Rose Freeman Massey was a native of Greenwood, Mississippi. After completing high school at Amanda Elzy High, she spent the majority of her time working with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNNC), helping individuals in her community register to vote.

Rose furthered her education by attending the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, where she received both her Bachelor’s and Master’s of Art degrees in African American Studies. While attending the University of Minnesota, she and other students became increasingly troubled by the plight of black students at the University. In 1969, the African American Action Coalition took over Morrill Hall and demanded the University to start a department dedicated to the study of African American history and culture.

In 1972, Rose Freeman Massey was employed at Milwaukee Area Technical College as an African American Studies Instructor for 32 years. During her tenure at MATC, she founded the Black Student Union. She was also aligned with the Colored Women’s Network and she founded the Just One mentoring program, which sought to retain African American students who were on academic probation or suspension.

One of her greatest accomplishments was starting Assata High school in the inner city of Milwaukee in January 1992. Assata provides a holistic, afrocentric, student-centered program that focuses on meeting students' educational, basic, and social needs.

In addition to this, Ms. Massey was also an accomplished writer. She is the co-author of Nerve Juice and the Ivory Tower Confrontation in Minnesota, Born in the Autumn of Rage, On Their Shoulders (40th Anniversary of the Milwaukee Area Technical College Black Student Union). She also produced and wrote a stage play called The Concrete Jungle.