Keep Thy Literacy

Elaine Richardson who wrote “To Serve and to Protect” showed insight as to how African Americans adapted their literacy in society. Unfortunately, African Americans have not quite kept their mother literacy in the past centuries. Richardson explained how important it is for a race to maintain their mother literacy. If the mother literacy is lost, the race will be lost and forced to create their literacy. Richardson expressed the condition of African American women saying, “…cultural forms that are constantly adapted to meet the needs of navigating life in a racist society influence these practices…”(4). It is clear that African American women go through racism, classism, sexism, and other oppressive circumstances. African American men have dealt with lose of literacy in a different way. Richardson explained, “…the Black male has had to read the world from his perspective and devise ways to meet the needs of himself and his family in slavery and its aftermath of racism and oppression,”(4). As a result, stereotypic images of black men have influenced society and black men. Frankly, African Americans are lost unless we ignore negative stereotypic images and recreate themselves in literacy.
This article reminded of “Going Against the Grain” by Royster. Royster explained how black women acquired literacy in the past centuries. As a result, black women recreated themselves to become teachers in their communities. The power of education heavily affected the black community. Black people have sacrificed a lot to gain literacy. Likewise, black people have tried to overcome oppressive circumstances from society. However, most of African Americans still succumb to oppressive images of black people is because they do not know their history.
Ultimately, when it comes down to literacy, one has to understand its power. Black people can succumb to or overcome other people’s negative images of black people. This was a good article to read. This article brought up the question what is the best way black people can find their mother literacy?
-Shaniqua Smiley

A Transforming Journey

In the reading of Transformative Literacy, Robin Wisniewski talks about how her journey was through changing her way of thinking from what it originally was. She credits this to many different people throughout her story, all teachers of her during her college career. I can relate to what Wisniewski is taking about because especially in college it is difficult to succeed when you still have your high school mentality. It makes me think about my own teachers and how they helped me to change my way of thinking. When coming to Spelman you learn relatively quickly that they don't accept what originally worked for you in high school. For example if your work earned you an A+ in high school, at college it is more likely to get you a C.

All of this was interesting for me to find out by reading this story and her journey of what happened but I believe that a lot of students can relate to this. Also Ms. Wisniewski speaks of Peer Counseling and I believe that thats a great idea. If your peers help you to see your mistakes then its normally better to hear it from a peer than from your teacher because then it seems like a criticism. Also she describes two other women that have transformed their literacy greatly. She says that Black women are central to the exploration of transformative literacy and I couldn't agree more.

Teachers Making Worlds of a Difference

From reading the personal dedication by Sunny-Marie Birney it made me reflect on my own experiences with having African American teachers. All throughout school I have never had any interactions with African American teachers inside the classroom. The closest I had ever come to having a familiar face in the classroom was if I had a substitute teacher. While I may not have had many encounters with African American teachers my mother who is an educator has had a major impact on my life. While I did not have role models in the classroom I did have a role model at home. My mother showed me that African American women can have leadership roles in the fields of education. My mother being at the top of her department and even later obtaining her Doctored degree in education sets the example for me and others in my generation that it is possible for a familiar face to not only be with you in the classroom but to also teach you. Before coming to Spelman College the only teacher I felt I could truly relate to was my own mother. She may have not been my teacher in the classroom but she brought many of her teaching skills home. She was a mother first but always a teacher.

Coming to Spelman College was a whole new experience for me. I had not been so accustomed to having majority African American teachers. The whole concept just seemed so foreign to me. I learned that by having African American teachers a new bond between student and teacher would be formed. No longer would it be based on teacher teaches student and teacher learns ideologies. Instead their would be a closer bond between student and teacher that exceeds the bounds of education. When a familiar face is in the classroom the student feels a sense of belonging and the ability to relate. With majority of my teachers I feel as though they genuinely do care about my well being and that they do want me to succeed. I truly believe that they see me less as a paycheck and more of an individual with the propensity to accomplish greatness.

-Kori A. Coleman

What Black Women Teachers Has Taught Me

After reading Sunny-Marie Birney’s personal dedication to the past and present phenomenal African American women in her article, “Voices of Our Foremothers: Celebrating the Legacy of African American Women Educators”, I wondered if I had the same drive and appreciation for the black women educators who I came across in my life. I did not have the exact experience as Birney; all her life, she “felt [she] was a motherless child”(49). During the time in her life when she was confused about who she was, she was grateful that “Drs. Susan Frazier-Kouassi, Yvonne Williams, and Mary Young… helped [her] connect [her] academic knowledge to a broader world and understand the dynamics of [her] ever changing place within that world” (50). I think her purpose of writing this dedication was to personally show her appreciation to those black women who impacted her life and to encourage young black women like myself to not just study but take in the college experience and enjoy it.
Perhaps there was only one black woman that impacted my life in high school. Ms. Malcolm was my math teacher and she was truly a gem. Birney mentioned Freire, a person I learned in my African Diaspora and World course. Ms. Malcolm thought us similar to the problem-posing method what Freire mentioned in his article “The Pedagogy of Truth” that this method involves, “a constant unveiling of reality”(84). Instead of giving us formulas to memorize, she allowed us to go to the board and figure the problem out with the help of our peers. If the problems were too tedious, she would help us out. Like Birney mentioned, Ms. Malcolm became “…my mother away from home…”(51). The fact that she cared about her students made me want to learn. She became my mentor and helped me get into Spelman College. If I were to write a dedication, it would be for her.
Now that I am in college, I am being educated by black teachers with black people. I am blessed to be at Spelman College being taught by the brightest minds in the world. I encourage everyone to take in the experience as well because life is too short.
Shaniqua Smiley

School Systems Still Segregated?

When I read this passage, I was compelled get some more insight on the segregation of schools back in the 1960’s by asking my parents about their experiences.
Both of my parents attended elementary school during the mid to late 1950’s. My father went to an elementary school in Silver Spring, Maryland which was the same elementary school I first attended. He told me that that school was the first to become integrated in that area. He said that he received the same education as white kids since he had the same materials they had. The only main difference were the neighborhoods because black neighborhoods had gravel roads and the whites had paved roads.
When I asked my mom about her elementary school experience, she also said that her school was integrated but it was majority black; mainly because she attended school in Washington, D.C. She said that for the most part, all of the students had the supplies they needed. This clearly shows that schooling was much different up North.
But back to my father’s experience, I found the information he gave me very interesting. Even though I attended that school way past segregation, I still experienced some form of racial oppression. I remember my kindergarten teacher excluding me from activities. I remember my mother telling me that she felt like my teacher did not treat me as well as the other students. Even though I was not the only black student in the class, black kids were the minority for the most part.
I still believe that the Jim Crow Laws “Separate but Equal” still live on today in a sense. One of my friends from Atlanta talked about how bad some of the “black” school systems were and that the white counties had some of the best schools and access to many resources. On the news they’re even talking about shutting down several elementary schools in Deklab County due to funding issues.
I also witness separation in school systems where I’m from. In Prince George’s County, a majority black county, school systems are not the best. The county is known for having the worst schooling in Maryland. Yet, in Montgomery County, which has the top school systems in Maryland, has the best resources available to the students. This upsets me because in PG, you can only get the best supplies if the school is brand new, yet the system never maintains to keep books updated over time.

Welfare and The Spear of Neo-colonialism

The systems of oppression have a way of evolving in society. One in particular is welfare which was discussed in Sandra Golden's essay, "Black and on Welfare:What You Don't Know About Single-Parent Women". She described her experience as a public assistance recipient and being met with discriminatory attitudes from the welfare office caseworkers. Golden not only painted a clear picture of the dehumanizing stigmas that was attached to her good name but she concluded she felt welfare barely helped her become self-sufficient. Golden mentioned, "It seemed the assumption was that welfare recipients were unmotivated, unskilled,[and]uneducated"(28). When she interviewed other welfare recipients, she discovered they felt the same way. Personally, welfare is a form of oppression to keep minorities serving the dominant group and suppress liberated ideas.
There were similarities between welfare and colonialism. The colonizers forced the natives to work by implementing taxes and force. In Aime Cesaire's book "Discourse on Colonialism", he mentioned that,"colonization equals thingification"(43). The colonizers made the natives become soldiers,workers,and servants. Almost completely erasing the native's language and culture, the colonizers made their mark in foreign continents like Africa even after they were gone. On the same token, dehumanizing people especially black women was what the welfare system applied. Since the welfare recipients, particularly black women were a little educated they could not help but co-operate with insensitive caseworkers. As a result, very few women have "participated in job placement programs"(Golden 31). Either the caseworkers ignore the needs of the recipients or the women are not literate enough to have a well paid job. One thing welfare and colonialism does is set up control. The government and caseworkers have control over the financial situation of the recipient. These women are not introduced to anything else, so they have to dependent on the government. Colonialism gives the colonizer the power. When one is dependent on someone else, one is not in control of one's life. Both systems of oppression embodied that concept.
Moreover, Golden has a liberated mind. In order to have a liberated mind, one must become aware of their oppressive surroundings and realize there is a better way to live. She described how the welfare system is and what it is to be a black women in the system. The natives had things tough under colonialism however most of them were liberated. Colonialism and welfare are one in the same. Welfare is the new form of control.
Shaniqua Smiley

Black Women and Welfare

What I found compelling about this particular excerpt in Joanne Kilgour Dowdy's "Readers of the Quilt" is that many superstitions or rather accusations against black women and the welfare system have been proven to be untrue. One of the myths about black single mothers is that many are unwilling or do not want to work while this concept is actually on the contrary. Many black single mothers do want to work and willing to do various jobs just to support their family. Another myth is that black single mothers are uneducated and lack various literacies, while in reality black single mothers possess the various literacies such as motherhood, work, and church literacy.

With being a black single mother on the welfare system comes various stigmas. Many assume that these women do not want to work or that they have extremely low levels of education and do not have the skills to work so from first walking in those doors to seek public aid judgment has already been placed. Many women in the article all had similar stories in which they said the “SSC treats you like you are stupid” and overall that they feel like the government welfare system is too busy with preconceived judgments instead of caring for others wellbeing.

From this article I have learned many inside details regarding the SSC. Previously I did not know that women were assigned to the job readiness program even though the SSC had no knowledge of their employment background, skills, or educational background. What this means is that women were not assessed according to skill level so they were not placed in the proper job training programs. What I have learned is that what is preventing black women from growing under the welfare system is not that inability or lack of job opportunities but rather negligence from the SSC on finding proper jobs and accurately assessing the individual.

Overall what I have learned from this article is that many of the stigmas associated with black single mothers is not true and what really holds this group of people back is negligence and until negligence disappears that is when black single mothers will be able to rise against the welfare system and live prosperous lives.

-Kori Coleman