Going Against the Grain: Part 2

In this section of Going Against the Grain, literacy involving slaves were discussed. Slaveholders kept the enslaved from being educated on purpose in order to prove their power. They thought if slaves were to become educated it would make them more aware of their situations and go against the White man’s authority. This subject was so important to slaveholders that laws were passed prohibiting slaves from becoming literate. When I read these outlandish facts, it appalled me to know that people were purposefully setting African Americans back for no other reason than fear of the inferior. In later years, African Americans developed their own schools in order to expand their education. They realized the significance of literacy in their lives and were not going to let anyone stop them from achieving their goal of literacy. Their schools were different from others because they had teachers for the older learners as well as the younger ones. By starting their own schools, African Americans were proving white people wrong as well as coming together as a community. The community aspect of the educational system shows how African Americans were not afraid to stand up to an oppressor and fight for what they wanted as a unified group. Their unification was what made their literacy possible. The fight against whites in order to become literate also contributed to their leadership skills within the race. The history of literacy with African Americans was a constant struggle that many still face in present day. The respect I have for those in history who started these schools in order to educate slaves is immense. The inspiration they have given future generations of African Americans to fight for what they want will always be present. 

Going Against The Grain Part 1 (Pages 108-123)

The reading opens with a quote from Maria W. Stewart, which was written in 1831. Maria W. Stewart was the first known African American woman to have written essays. The time in which the included passage was written displays the understanding that African American women had of two things: the power of language and learning and the deep-rooted hostility which people of African decent must live in the United States. (page 108)

"The environment in which students acquire their literacy has a major impact on the cognitive consequences of their possession of the skill and the uses to which it can be put." Harvey J. Graff

When looking at the history of African American women, their acquisition of literacy and their uses of literacy, the connection between the learning environment, possession of the skill, and the use of the acquired skill is  significant.The dismantling of barriers to education opportunities is tedious and the struggle for opportunity and achievement has to be constant. African American women have been victim to racist, sexist, class-bound ideologies since the beginning of Africans lives in the Americas.  The resistance of theses ideologies started very basic. African American women were first required to define themselves a human beings in order to establish a place for themselves as rightful holders of the entitlement of citizenship, which included opportunities for literacy and learning. They also had to earn and create an image of credibility and respect to discredit  the disempowering images of themselves as amoral, unredeemable, and undeserving. Activism served as a direct means for not only acquiring and utilizing literacy but battling the negative images portrayed. Going Against the Grain Part 1, details the various acts of activism which served as teachers of literacy. Part 1 also describes the various environments African American women have acquired and acquire literacy. Within multiple environments of domination and oppression these women were able to leave a legacy of resiliency and spiritual strength, a legacy which was foundation for individual and organization strength, and a legacy of activism which helped mold a legacy of literacy.

Works Cited:

Royster, Jacqueline J. “Going Against the Grain: The Acquistion and Use of Literacy” in Traces of Stream: Literacy and Social Change Among African Women. U of Pittsburgh Press, 2000.

Going Against the Grain Part 3 (pages 140-161)

This section of the reading starts off by talking about three major events that led to the resources that were given in order for enslaved African American to become literate.  The first event was the win gained by the Union troops over the Confederate troops on Hilton Head Island.  After the Confederates lost, they abandon the island and left behind plantations and thousands of slaves known as “contrabands”, which lead to the second major event.  The Port Royal experiment was the second event and it consisted of two parts.  The first part was the economic part which focused on how the island was going to be managed in order to be claimed as American land.  The second part of the experiment focused on the “contraband” people and what was to be done with them.  President Lincoln signed a bill that gave the freed slaves permission to purchase from the land that had been confiscated. He also sated in the bill that there must be land set aside for school purposes.  This was the first federal funding given to African Americans for their educational opportunities.  The third major event occurred on January 1, 1863, when President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which was a proclamation to free all slaves.   

The section then goes into depth about Charlotte Forten’s experience at Port Royal.  Forten was “a member of the affluent and widely respected Black abolitionist Forten-Purvis family from Philadelphia” (page 143).  She was a woman that wanted to make a huge difference in the world, and she began accomplishing great things at an early age. She became the first African American women to educate African Americans on St. Helena, the first to attend Higginson Grammar School, her work was published in the Liberator, and she was also an active member if the Salem Female Anti-Slavery Society.  She was a very ill throughout her lifetime, but she had the goal to instill pride, self-respect, and self-sufficiency in African Americans.  Even though Forten grew up with multiply opportunities and came from an affluent family, she did not consider the African American slaves as unequal’s, unlike her white colleagues. It mentions how her white colleague Laura Towne did not even acknowledge Forten’s presence as a teacher.  It goes on to talk about how the school was a great success and furthered Forten’s career as a writer.

The last part of this section talks about how after the Civil War different movements formed in order to help African American become literate.  According to Royster, “African American community itself was largely responsible for laying the fertile foundation for universal literacy in African American communities” (pg. 153).  This is why African Americans were able to start Sabbath school, missionary school, and public school movements.  People in Atlanta saw this as an opportunity for advancement and took it.  They began to form public schools and colleges like Spelman College.  This was a great advancement for African American because education gave them a better opportunity to better jobs, which means better pay.

I really enjoy this reading and it really gave me the true history of the development of school’s for African Americans.  This reading has made me really appreciate the opportunities I have today and I thank all of the people who didn’t give up and continue to fight for not only are freedom, but also education for us.

Works Cited:

Royster, Jacqueline J. “Going Against the Grain: The Acquistion and Use of Literacy” in Traces of Stream: Literacy and Social Change Among African Women. U of Pittsburgh Press, 2000.

Black Women/ Black Literature Response

Christina McVay is a white Pan-African Studies Professor at Kent State University. Dowdy conducted an interview with McVay in order to include people who I have gained from the study of Black women and Black Literature. In the Interview, McVay talks about her past and how she became interested in Black studies. What I thought was the most interesting part of the interview was when McVay talked about her Black friend at a boarding school she attended. McVay’s friend, Alice, would receive readings such as Eldridge Cleaver, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, and other black power literature. From these readings, McVay developed a new perspective on whites as well as African Americans.

            McVay’s teaching techniques are different than many other professors in her field as well. By having her Black students create their own “Slang Dictionary”, it not only helped McVay understand the Black culture but it created a new way for her students to learn in a more interactive style. McVay’s differentiating perspective probably confuses people because many would feel as if she cannot relate to Pan-African Studies, but her passion and dedication toward the subject makes up for any doubts that people may have. 

Going Against the Grain Part 4

Maria Miller Stewart was a freedom fighter for African American women and used her literacy to get her point across, even in very few people were listening. Stewart had a small chance at a formal education and received the minor education she had from Sabbath schools. Stewart was an indentured servant from the age of five through thirteen in Connecticut. At the age of 23, Stewart married a 47 year old shipping agent and they lived in Boston, a site of political activity among African Americans. Stewart  was able to catch a first hand glance at social and political activity from  the people in her neighborhood including David walker, a clothing store owner who was viewed as a radical because he was a writer for the Freedom Journal. The Freedom Journal published articles about African American struggles worldwide. 

In December of 1829, James Stewart, Maria’s husband died  from an illness. Maria was left in poverty even though she was meant to inherit one-third of her husband’s estate. James’ white business partners, however, took all of his estate. After a two year long legal battle where Maria faced racial and gender discrimination, she was left with virtually nothing.

Instead of confiding in her faith after the events that had occurred to her, Stewart decided to speak out for African American women. Stewart had the life experience of discrimination and racism to stand up and preach for her rights as both an African American and a woman. Stewart decided to use hr literacy as a gateway to solve the problems she came across in her community as well as take a political stand. Stewart asked herself these crucial questions: “If not me, then who? If not now, when?” She answered these questions through pamphlets and public lectures. Stewart’s speeches of freedom fighting and empowerment were short lived due to the fact that she was a woman. She moved around to New York, Baltimore and D.C serving as a teacher. In D.C., she became a matron at the Freedmen’s Hospital. Stewart was able to submit a claim for pension as the widow of a war veteran before he death in 1879. This last act before her death showed that even at old age she was fighting for rights for African Americans.

After reading this excerpt, from Traces, I have a newfound respect for the women who experienced similar struggles such as Maria Miller Stewart. I was shocked reading about the fact that Stewart was denied any right to her husband’s estate even though it was written in his will. I think it’s ironic how the Constitution was signed in July of 1776, but 60 years later, African Americans are fighting for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, in which all men are entitled to. I respect Stewart’s decision to keep fighting for her rights, even when nobody was listening. It’s people like Stewart that are the backbone for feminist movements that are in effect today. I also applaud the men and women who lost their lives in the fight for freedom because it gives us the freedom to be able to read their stories, learn from it and pass it on to future generations.

Abolitionist Movement 

Works Cited

Royster, Jacqueline J. "Going Against the Grain: The Acquisition and Use of Literacy" in Traces of Stream: Literacy and Social Change Among African American Women. U of Pittsburgh Press, 2000.

“The Abolitionist Movement.” 2010. The History Channel website. Sep 18 2010, 7:36 http://www.history.com/videos/abolition-and-the-underground-railroad.

To Be Black, Female and Literate: A Personal Journey in Education and Alienation

“ The path to acquiring an education and advanced academic literacy is fraught with difficulty, and opening the door to success comes with a price.” (Smith 183).

  In her essay “ To Be Black, Female and Literate: A Personal Journey in Education and Alienation” Leonie C.R. Smith reminisces on her life and her path to literacy and education. It’s apparent that Smith has dealt with a tough life with the death of her mother at age five, her family having to stretch one paycheck in order to feed 13 mouths and her family home burning at the age of eight. Surprisingly, these bumps in the road never had a negative impact on her education. Smith moved from Antigua to Brooklyn, NY at age 11 and there was an automatic culture shock. The life she knew in Antigua was the complete opposite in Brooklyn. For one, she was deemed as illiterate due to the fact that she scored a 29 on an assessment and therefore placed in a class that didn’t challenge her intellectual abilities. Smith was appalled and took a stand up for her education and eventually placed in a more challenging class. Smith was able to get through high school and graduated with honors and in the top one percentile of her class. Following high school, Smith went to Hamilton College in Clinton, NY and it was there that she began to question her intelligence and herself as an African-American woman. It was at Hamilton College that Smith faced racism for the first time in her life. Smith enrolled at Hamilton College expecting the diverse environment she had in Brooklyn and her experience opened her eyes to the “real world”. Smith experienced racism from her professors, her teammates, as well as classmates. Reading this essay, I found it hard to believe that even after going through years of increasing her knowledge, studying and graduating constantly at the top of her class in middle school and high school, Smith still faced racism. Smith didn’t in with the people in her neighborhood because of her education and  I was appalled at the idea of her own race looking down on her because she had her life on the right track and was trying to make something of herself. Though educated, Smith couldn’t fit in with her white peers because of the stereotype associated with being an African American woman. Smith was at a crossroads and over her education and literacy. 

         Smith was speaking of herself when she quoted “ The path to acquiring an education and advanced academic literacy is fraught with difficulty, and opening the door to success comes with a price.”  Smith’s price was unhappiness in her neighborhood as well as Hamilton College. Smith was never accepted because of her proper English in Brooklyn and an outcast in college. As black women, we should be able to embrace our intelligence and be proud of who our heritage and  culture because it has brought us to where we are today. Being literate is not a burden we must face, but a gift meant to enlighten us. Coming to this realization, I started to wonder about the fate of Black women and our literacy’s. When will it be deemed alright to be an educated Black woman? When will we as Black women be seen as equals in our own neighborhoods as well as our working environments?

Works Cited

Smith, Leonie C.R. "To Be Black, Female and Literate: A Personal Journey in Education and Literacy."  Dowdy, Joanne. Readers of the Quilt. Hampton Press. 2005.

                                                            

A Response to..........To Protect and Serve

“The concept of African American literacies as I explore it here refers to ways of knowing and acting and the development of skills,vernacular expressive arts and crafts that help females to advance and protect themselves and their loved ones in society.”(680) Constantly adapting to meet the needs of racist influenced life are African cultural forms such as storytelling, conscious manipulation of silence and speech, and other verbal and nonverbal practices. These nontraditional cultural forms are important pieces to African American literacy. The specialized pieces of African American female literacy are diverse but much needed. Literacy is breath to our quest of helping cultivate a better world.

In To Protect and Serve, the concept of “Mother Tongue” is presented. The woman is the child's first teacher. Before pre-school or kindergarten there is the womb.The term mother tongue in the simplest form can describe the inherited language or social condition/ing of one's mother. The idea of mother tongue is grounded on the presumption that literacy acquisition is stimulated through utilizing the tongue of nurture in literacy. (678) Terminating mother tongue literacy is unhealthy for African American society and identity development.The African American woman is continually exploited in American culture. This exploitation has corrupted and traumatized generations of black females and their families. The stereotypes that find themselves so easily embedded in modern day pop culture support the negative ideas that young Black females often find themselves struggling with. For example,the stereotype of a Black female being a “heartless Nigger bitch”, or a “wench”. This stereotype was used to refer to an enslaved female whose sexual behavior was loose and immoral. (676) The White supremacy views supported by this stereotype suggested that Black females could love no one,including their own children. The stereotype also suggested that these women enjoyed and were available for sexual exploitation. These stereotypes have passed the test of time thanks to the slave owners,who operated under White supremacy views.

In closing, I ask you to type “black girls” into a search engine. The things that are found and presented at the top of the page mostly contain pornography. Turn the television on and the exploitation of our ancestors can be seen streaming live but the stories of our sister's struggle are hard to find. As African American females we must exercise various examples of literacy so we may better empower our sisters in the American struggle of life identity.

Works Cited 

Richardson, Elanie. To Protect and Serve. National Council of Teachers for English, 2002

Response to Dowdy's Black Women and Literacy

"Free at last! Free at Last! Thank God Almighty, we're free at last?!" http://blackwomansliteracy.com/. Web. 7 Sep 2010. <http://blackwomansliteracy0.blogspot.com/>.


In Black Women and Literature, Dowdy starts off by stating society’s view of the black women. In society’s eyes; “The Black women represents strength and endurance, yet she also represents what we consider to be at risk and poverty” (pg. 15). She may be considered poor because, “she has been and remains a member of the underclass”(15). This may be due to the fact that she has not taken full advantage of her ability to be literate. Dowdy then goes on and talks about the perspective of black women and literacy throughout history. She states how many of the writings refer to women and literacy but don’t mention black females, only white ones. She includes obstacles that black women have had to go through just to become educated. For example, the school hours were held early in the morning, due to society’s views of her being domestic, and needed to raise a family. Why was it that “educated and Black women and marriage were not compatible?” (18). This was because society wanted the black woman to chose between becoming educated in order to better herself or being married which was normal for her in society. Dowdy then goes on to talk about the effort black women took in order to become more literate, including developing programs to tend to their needs.


What do the black women have to do to change the way others view their relationship with literacy? Literacy does not mean to just read and write. There are multiple things that black women can be considered literate in. As Dowdy writes, “Black women must continue to place themselves in positions that challenge and improve the existing social order. No longer should they remain silent; rather they must speak out, act out, and effect change” (21). I agree with this statement because the only way change can take place is if black women speak up for themselves. We must challenge what society says is our place. Yet it is our job to continue what society tells us is our historical place, taking care of the home and children, or is that is not our place at all today?

We must stick together and prove that we are capable of doing anything that men are able to do. We must continue to, “epitomize the image of what Black women endured to become” (16). Women like Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth defied the expectations society placed on them; so we shouldn’t let their work and suffering go to waste.


Works Cited

Dowdy, Jonne. Readersof the Quilt. Cresskill NJ: Hampton Press, 2005.


"Free at last! Free at Last! Thank God Almighty, we're free at last?!" http://blackwomansliteracy.com/. Web. 7 Sep 2010. <http://blackwomansliteracy0.blogspot.com/>.