Literacy, broadly understood as the ability to read and write, especially in the dominant language of one's society, takes on a unique and profound significance in the context of African American history and culture.
Imagine being one of those readers seeking knowledge that reflects on your own human experience and being withheld from doing so. Unfortunately, in the United States, there was a time when certain individuals were prohibited from learning to read or write based on the color of their skin.
In the African American tradition, the mastery of the English language is often demonstrated in oratory, reflecting the symbiosis of literacy and orality. In the context of African American education, in particular, literacy is ostensibly more political in connotation.
Historically, literacy for African Americans has been linked to notions of freedom-especially freedom from enslavement-and empowerment. Many scholars have characterized the attainment of literacy as an assertion of African American humanity. Literacy remains a critical sociopolitical and academic issue for African Americans-particularly in light of achievement gap discourse. Thus, literacy is quite a contentious topic in African American education.
Practice school teachers at Howard University, Washington, DC, 1900.
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The Historical Context of Literacy and Resistance
The earliest demonstrations of the politics of literacy are found in the publications of enslaved and formerly enslaved Africans.
Phyllis Wheatley, writer of “On Being Brought From Africa to America,” for instance, invokes the humanity of the enslaved by serving as an example of and testifying to the potential for change and refinement of the enslaved. Furthermore, slave narratives such as The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, while simultaneously condemning chattel enslavement in the United States, also celebrate the humanity of the enslaved.
The narratives of the enslaved reveal not only the drastic measures taken by the enslaved to escape bondage, but also the risks taken to secure literacy. The authors of narratives of the enslaved used their stories as abolitionist texts and as an assertion (or insertion) of their-the African Americans'-place in history.
Because literacy for the enslaved was illegal and frowned upon by masters who thought it would distract their laborers, learning to read and write was life-threatening work. The enslaved risked being sold, beaten or whipped, and even killed to become literate.
Several confederate states jointly imposed literacy restrictions on the enslaved using legislation that went beyond the shackling of bodies and extended into the shackling of minds. In their attempts to shackle our intellect, they failed to factor in the resilience of a people who endured centuries of brutal dehumanization and forced assimilation. A paradigm shift occurs in the thinking processes of enslaved people who gain knowledge.
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Their thinking moves from a slave mentality to a mentality of liberation, thus making them “unfit to be slaves,” as Frederick Douglass stated. Jennie Proctor was enslaved in the state of Alabama in 1850-1865. She did an interview with the Federal Writers’ Project in San Angelo Texas in 1937. The Federal Writers’ Project was a collection of interviews of over 2,300 formerly enslaved black people conducted in the 1930’s.
In her interview, she gives a firsthand account of her life as a slave in Alabama. Jennie started working in the fields at the age of 10. In this interview, Jennie gives her account of learning how to read even though it was forbidden. “None of us wuz ’lowed to see a book or try to learn. Dey say we git smarter den dey wuz if we learn anythin’, but we slips around and gits hold of that Webster’s old blue back speller and we hides it ’til way in de night. Den we lights a little pine torch and studies dat spellin’ book. We learn it, too.
Restrictions did not keep Jennie from learning how to read. In the wee hours of the night, she would use Webster’s old spelling book, lighting a pine torch to read the words. The black community knows how to make a way out of no way. Our role is that of a pathfinder, forced to come up with ways to get around the unjust limitations imposed on us by those who oppressed us. Despite being enslaved, Jennie refused to be defined or oppressed by her status.
Thus, after becoming literate, many of the enslaved sought immediate emancipation from bondage.
Anti-Literacy Laws
Historically, black people were not allowed to read, write, or even own a book because of anti-literacy laws. Anti-literacy laws made it illegal for enslaved and free people of color to read or write.
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Southern slave states enacted anti-literacy laws between 1740 and 1834, prohibiting anyone from teaching enslaved and free people of color to read or write. Confederate states in the antebellum South that passed anti-literacy laws included South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Virginia, and Alabama.
Teaching people of color how to read was punishable by whippings, lashes, fines, and even death. In 1832, Virginia and Alabama passed laws preventing white people from teaching African Americans to read.
One cannot imagine what slavery was like in this beautiful city centuries ago. The undercurrents of slavery have no respect for people or beautiful places. Slavery still operated concurrently with regular life.
There’s a story of a courageous educator named Mathilda Beasley, who is practically unknown in the annals of black history. Mathilda was born in New Orleans and moved to Savannah, Georgia, in the 1850s. Despite the risks of fines and up to 32 lashes in the public square, Mathilda opened a “secret” school for enslaved and free children of color.
Educating children of color in Savannah was Mathilda’s brave act against illiteracy and unjust laws. Mathilda’s bravery is noteworthy, but the students should also be recognized. The colored schools in Savannah were considered open secrets. Therefore, the students had to take extra precautions to hide from the authorities. To do this, they wrapped their books in newspapers, changed their school routes, and hid in a designated place if the authorities raided them.
A group of African-American children in front of the historic College of Beaufort building which served as a public library and high school. 1862.
Literacy as a Tool for Freedom
As African-Americans sought to define the meaning of freedom, literacy, “reading, writing, and arithmetic,” was also a fundamental goal of achievement and empowerment.
The Crafts were not the only “self-liberated” African Americans who defined freedom with the attainment of literacy at that historic moment through their own resistance and constructive resilience. Frederick Douglass (Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass), Harriet Jacobs (Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl), W. E. B.
After the Civil War many African Americans who had been enslaved were persistent about learning to “cipher” and to “read my title clear.” The Freedmen’s Bureau schools played an important role in establishing schools for African Americans in Halifax and Mecklenburg counties. Literacy was not simply a matter of reading the Bible. As the raw tools of agency, reading and writing were keys to citizenship on a human level.
History of African-Americans - Animation
Post-Emancipation: Continued Challenges and Progress
After the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment (1865), which abolished enslavement in the United States, literacy in the African American community remained a preeminent concern. Debates over the rights of and place for African Americans were commonplace, and although no longer enslaved, African Americans continued to experience social, political, and economic inequity. In other words, though free from physical bondage, they were not free from oppression.
African Americans in the United States did not become citizens until after the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment (1868), and the right to vote was not extended to African American men until the ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment (1870). Nonetheless, as a result of the efforts of the Freedmen's Bureau and the missionary work of many Christian churches, separate schools were built to educate freed African Americans.
Although literacy efforts improved and increased with the opening of grade schools and colleges for African Americans, the African American condition in the United States remained plagued by racist ideologies and discrimination. Literacy was used as a weapon to combat these challenges. Many African American leaders used their mastery of the English language in both writings and speeches of protest against discrimination and political and economic disenfranchisement.
Because literacy was viewed as a privilege in the African American community, those who obtained literacy were thought to have the responsibility to impart knowledge to the rest of the African American community.
Literacy Classes: A Key to Empowerment
Literacy classes are educational programs designed to teach reading and writing skills to individuals, particularly those who have been historically marginalized or denied access to education. These classes played a crucial role in empowering African Americans, especially during and after the period of slavery, as they sought to gain knowledge and advocate for their rights through improved communication skills.
Literacy classes were often organized by churches and community groups, reflecting the importance of these institutions in African American life. During the Reconstruction Era, literacy classes became crucial for African Americans seeking to participate in civic life, including voting and holding public office.
Despite facing resistance from white supremacists who sought to maintain ignorance among African Americans, many literacy initiatives thrived during this time. The introduction of literacy classes was a direct response to the need for education among newly freed individuals who wanted to improve their social and economic status.
By learning to read and write, African Americans could access literature, legal documents, and newspapers, which were vital for advocacy and self-empowerment. Black churches played a significant role in promoting literacy by organizing classes and providing educational resources to their congregations. As trusted community hubs, these institutions not only focused on spiritual guidance but also emphasized the importance of education.
By offering literacy programs, Black churches empowered individuals with the skills needed for self-advocacy and greater social participation, creating a strong link between faith and education.
Contemporary Perspectives on Literacy
Literacy is now defined as knowing more than how to “read and write” when it comes to the formal, informal, and continuous progress towards new kinds of interconnected learning for jobs, new skills, etc. Therefore, the practice of “literacies” goes beyond the raw tools of pen and paper or reading a newspaper or a book.
In today’s world there are new kinds of learnings and advancements defined through the intersections of technology, culture, health, financial, informatics, digital, computer literacies, etc.
Lakeya Afolalu challenges schools and society to redefine literacy. “If we solely define literacy as reading and writing, then we omit the diverse ways that people communicate through multiple modalities,” she says. “We need to think more broadly about literacy, which will help schools and spaces create anti-racist, equitable and socioemotional approaches to literacy education.An assistant professor of language, literacy and culture in the UW College of Education’s Teaching, Learning & Curriculum program, Afolalu first became interested in the topic of literacy as a child.
Her expanded definition of literacy speaks to the potential of education to evolve to meet the needs of all its students and the future. Digital literacies, visual literacies, dance literacies, fashion - these expanded concepts of literacy truly support students’ identities. She doesn’t believe that we should get rid of traditional literacy basics, such as phonics, word recognition, and comprehension but rather that we should couple it with forms of literacy that are inclusive of students’ racial, ethnic, linguistic and gender identities. This is needed for an equitable anti-racist, and just approach to literacy education.
The Ongoing Struggle
Although anti-literacy laws no longer exist, critical race theory (CRT) has emerged as a new form of this ideology. CRT examines how structural inequalities persist even though laws are in place to address them. However, lawmakers are participating in fear-mongering campaigns about critical race theory, claiming that it is being taught in the classrooms.
Since CRT was introduced, twenty-two states have attempted or proposed legislation to regulate the teaching of racism in the classroom. Unfortunately, this has also resulted in the banning of books written by black authors. Laws are supposed to establish justice. Today, laws are being used as modern-day shackles of restriction reminiscent of the Jim Crow era, always separate and never equal.
Critical Race Theory.
Carliss Maddox is a Maryland-based author, educator, and poet. She is the author of four children’s books and one novel. Her stories are inspired by personal experiences as an educator and life in general.
Conclusion
African American literacies encompass a rich and complex history intertwined with resistance, empowerment, and the ongoing pursuit of social justice. From the secret acquisition of reading and writing skills during slavery to the establishment of literacy classes and the contemporary redefinition of literacy to include diverse forms of communication, the journey of African American literacies reflects a continuous struggle for knowledge, self-expression, and equality. Understanding this history and embracing a more inclusive approach to literacy remains essential for creating a more equitable and just society.
