Going Against the Grain (Part 1 & 2)

Considered to be the interpreters and re-interpreters of the world, African American women have established a history of themselves as the caregivers and mothers of the world. African American women struggled tremendously in the history of becoming American people. However, the struggles that they endured allowed them to develop an inner strength that gave them the ability to become the activists that they are today. The women of the first generation of courageous women created opportunities for future African American women to carry out “good and righteous” work to better the community (race). In “Going against the Grain,” the author categorizes African Americans as teachers, instructors, storytellers, healers, lovers, and caregivers. The ability for women to resist the oppression and still be a vital part of the economy gave them the strength they needed to obtain literacy. “They recognized that literacy was a skill, a talent, and ability appropriate to their new environment” (114) African American Women knew the importance of strength and literacy, in order to have a voice in the world. With many people against them, such as, James Madison, they continued to fight for rights. Eventually people like Madison, were convinced by these education activists and we have been able to make a place for ourselves.

Making a place in America and trying to gain an education was not an easy task in early American History.  There were many stages that the African Americans had to go through to get to where we are today.  Toward the end of the eighteenth century, the rise of the Industrial Age and the rise in revolts within the slaves contributed to the restriction of literacy among blacks.  With the new inventions during this time, the whites only wanted cheap workers, and didn’t find the need to educate the slaves.  Also, the white slave owners were in fear of teaching the blacks how to read and write. They thought that enriching them with knowledge would add to the insurrections and give the slaves more power to eventually gain control and take over.  However, there was a new mindset that emerged after the Revolutionary War.  A group of revolutionary leaders wanted to rescue the enslaved blacks and offer them an opportunity to free their minds through education.  Free-born children were allowed to attend public school or other places available for them to gain literacy.  This was a privilege deemed more for the North.  The South was not granted the same opportunity as quickly as the North due to the types of environment both locations were embedded in.   This system and the rise of literacy among African Americans were strengthened as a result of the American Revolutionary War, and the foundational principles of the nation.  By the turn of the nineteenth century, there were a large amount of literate blacks, in both the North and South and African American women were a big factor that contributed to this. 
Many black women started schools for the youth because they knew the importance of an education.  “They demonstrated, in fact, a passionate determination to reduce ignorance, develop literacy, and encourage intellectual development for males and females alike” (137).  If an African American woman didn’t have the ability to open up her own school, she still made time to teach her children.  She spread her knowledge to others so they would be able to understand what is going on around them and become more aware.  A black woman’s determination caused her to overcome obstacles and do what she knew was best for her kids and their future.  Today a large portion of the black community has access to an education thanks to the hard work of the early slaves and the black women (and others) that pushed for a better life for their people.  This reading affected us positively because it shows the hard work that our ancestors put in for us to have access to an education.  Yet, it is sad to see how many people in our community take this opportunity for granted.

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.