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.
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