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

Hard Work Pays Off

Hard work pays off. That statement came to mind as I read this reading. The author talks about how she worked in the cotton fields when she was a young girl and how that played a factor as to who she is now.
It reminds me of all the discipline I went through when I was younger and still to this day. I remember talking to one of my friends recently in the cafeteria. We were discussing the snow Maryland is getting since we’re both from Maryland. We had different views about the snow. She wished that she was home so she could watch the snow fall from the sky. I, however, was not thrilled about it and was happy to be down here and Georgia. I expressed my dread for snow because I always would have to shovel the snow. No matter how cold or how many feet of snow we received, my parents always had my brother and I out there helping them. My mom even told me that once I could hold a shovel I was immediately put to work.
My friend informed me that her and her mother never shoveled the snow. It would only be her father and younger brother out there battling the storm. I began to become upset by this. I remember going home for Christmas break and shoveling snow with my family. I realized that my neighbors were all out as well except for one family who had a set of teenage twin daughters. The father and younger son would be out there shoveling while the twins and their mother stayed inside. It made me mad picturing them lounging inside sipping hot chocolate and watching us work from the comforts of their couch. So, to myself, I automatically thought that my friend was lazy.
I never thought it was fair that my parents made my brother and I shovel snow all the time and do yard work. When I was younger, I would also get upset because all my friends would get money for their good grades, even if they had two A’s. I, on the other hand, would get straight A’s and get no reward.
When I would tell my parents about my frustrations, saying that I get good grades and get nothing in return, my dad would always say something along the lines of, “I shouldn’t need to give you money to get good grades because you should be getting them anyway.” Or “You’ll get your reward in the future because hard work pays off.” I hated that. I didn’t want to look towards the future. I wanted money right then. That’s all I cared about.
As I got older, I found it to be a hassle asking my parents for money. “You need to get a job” they would tell me. So I did. Then I would end up having two jobs at one time because I loved the satisfaction of making my own money and not having to hear the word “no” from my parents when I wanted something. However, with me having a job, my parents expected me to be able to pay for my gas, phone bill, some of my car insurance and food. At times I would buy groceries for my parents so they wouldn’t have to go out.
This may sound like a hard life, but I actually appreciate my parents for doing this now. It taught me discipline and responsibility. It taught how to look down the road instead of seeing what’s right in front of me. I no longer feel like my school accomplishments aren’t being recognized because I know one day they will once I obtain my dream job. I also don’t complain about shoveling snow because I realized that my parents are getting older. I feel as if they don’t need to be out there risking their health so if they go inside a little earlier to get warmth and rest, I’ll understand.

"Reel" Women

Leading black actresses have been portrayed as people with either no literacy or very little. More often than not in many movies they have either been stay-at-home moms or maids with little or no economic literacy and were dependent on someone in their lives. Especially the times that the women were portrayed as drug addicts.
In this passsage, Kilgour Dowdy shows how in about 9 movies how these leading actresses have to play certain characters while most of the time there is someone white that has to come along and help them out. For example in the movie "Losing Isiah" Halle Berry plays a crack addict that had to give up her baby and is barely literate. Also Meryl Streep comes along and takes care of the baby and Berry basically has to prove that to her that she can take care of the baby now. It was determined that Halle Berry's character had to improve her level of literacy in the book sense or else there was no possible chance to get her baby.
In all the other movies that they chose also there was something wrong with the Black women characters that they needed to improve their literacy in order to make their situation better, which sort of portrays how many view black women.

Black Women: As Seen on TV

Prior to reading Joanne Dowdy's except on Black Women and Literacy in Featured Films, I was taught to analyze movies limited to its cinematography. For instance, I was taught to identify and analyze camera shots and angles to better understand why the director made that shot. However Dowdy takes cinema to another level as she analyzes black women identity of a particular era in film. Dowdy discussed that, " rules and roles create social expectations...[which] was believed [were] the natural order of things..." (166). She described popular black films like "The Color Purple", "Saving Isiah", and "Sarafina" that portrayed black women having different kinds of literacy going through trials and truimphs. I identified with the movie "The Color Purple."
In the movie "The Color Purple", Celie had her life dominated by her husband because she was unintelligent. However, Dowdy sheads light saying, "Goldberg's portrayal of a woman who makes a way out of no way is both compelling and informative,"(171). Though Celie could not read and write, she found inner strength doing other things. Eventually, Celie became the owner of a sewing store. Dowdy also included the film taught that "there are many ways to be functional in the world without reading and writing skills,"(172). This film showcased the talent black women possessed.
Moreover, these popular films opened not only the doors for black women to be stars in movie production but showcased the many alternative literacies black women were known to posess. In "The Color Purple", Celie could not read but she could sew. Dowdy discussed the movie literacy we need to have to analyze the dialect, location, and era of black movies to understand how bigger society thinks of us. Besides that I enjoyed reading her except.

Shaniqua Smiley

Going Against the Grain

Reading this text had me very intrigued. I was intrigued for the perseverance of black people trying to obtain literacy. Whether it was learning from their masters, standing outside a school house, or passing down culture to each other; it was very inspiring.

However, becoming aware of my ancestor’s struggle to gain access to all of the literate amenities that white people had formed a disappointment towards my own generation. I realize that most of us hardly take advantage of all the resources given to us; we take them for granted. Black people in earlier times had to fight for an education and for equality. Even when they had education, it was segregated and of poor quality compared to whites. I believe that over the years, the black community has become lazy. Why is this?
For one, I believe the household contributes to this lack of literacy devotion. If there aren’t any literate family members, or members who encourage literacy, what can we expect for our future? My parents were always introducing me to new things to build on my literacy skills, and still manage to do it to this day while I’m in college.
In the text, it stated how the enslaved taught each other by passing down information they obtained to the youth. In some or most cases, this tradition still continues today, no matter what race or culture, however in my opinion I believe this action only takes place in literate households.
What can we do to change this? Can we encourage parents and other family members to become more involved with the younger communities, and not just their own families? Unfortunately, some families do not have access to certain resources, so when will we step up together and better our younger generations for the future?
To me it’s like how Obama wants to have more dedicated teachers in the school system so they can teach students more effectively. Also, so the students can become more interested in the math and science areas.

African American Women Redefined

Love is a powerful feeling. It wil make you hold on to something that may be untangible or unstable. In the book, Going Against the Grain by Maria Stewart, she brought light to African American women whose love and unbroken spirit caused them to have literacy for generations. During slavery, black people were not allowed to be literate, as an read and write. However black slave women developed other literacies and passed that information through generations. They were seen as interpretors and reinterpretors in the world, which was still present in post-slavery. More power is given to the black woman than what is credited to her.

Personally what looks human and is classified as human is human. The article mentioned black women had to first prove themselves as human. In the past we were treated more so like animals than human. However black women proven to have maintained their motherly literacy. The desire to keep their communities intact and not lose their tradition, caused them to have oral literacy to pass down tradition to the children.

Moreover the first generation of black women have achieved to manage their literacy in major tragedies in history. They could interpret symbols and languages to pass down African history to future generations. This article brought insight to how resilient and fearless black women have been. I enjoyed this article.

Shaniqua Smiley

Education Unveiled

Thousands of talented, aspiring focused black women come to Spelman College to make their dreams to change the world come true. The sisterhood and teachings of identity in African Diaspora classes offered at Spelman are available to everyone which are rare at other colleges. These are the reasons I would think Leonie Smith author of To Be Black, Female, and Literate: A Personal Journey in Education and Alienation would have liked to attend. Smith was one out of 11 children born in Antigua to two talented, gifted parents. She later decided to pursue education in America but being faced with rascism, identity, and accusations of her being illiterate not only alienated her but made her a stronger black woman.
Most Historically Black Colleges are overlooked as institutions to earn quality education. Colleges like Spelman College and Morehouse School of Medicine are the few Black colleges that taught in the fields science, medicine, and technology. For Smith, she was determined to graduate from a majority white college to earn a leg up in the world. Regardless of the rascism the young Antiguan faced at Hamilton College, she did not want to fail her intelletual father and talented mother. Before Smith went to America, she was instilled with the importance of an education. She described "her father was an intelligent boy who had to drop out of school...to help his family..."(183). She was definitely isolated because of her skin color at the college. She described, "Professors did not to hold the same high expectations of Black students," (194). During that time, she felt sectioned off from herself and the college which was something she would have not gone through at a HBCU.
One concept that was taught in African Diaspora class offered at Spelman College is there are alternatives to knowledge. When Smith explained, "[she] had never seen a multiple-choice test before...and was subsequently labeled illiterate,"(187-188) described the American school system as a culturally bias system. Even after she eventually she became accustomed to the American English system she had difficulty with fitting into society. Again, Black colleges try to instill in their students a sense of identity as well as education. Personally, it is an alternative form of education to black students who have been previously been brainwashed with negative images of black people. Unfortunately halve of Smith's life, who faced rascism was not equiped with the knowledge and support black colleges give to their students so she could confidently face the world.
Moreover it was informing to hear about the world's negative view of Black people from a black Antiguan woman who pursued education in America. Smith exposed the false assumption of education that it is obtained, free from rascism, discrimination, and oppression. Unlike the white students who got the most out of college which includes fun, she was isolated in her dorm. Her story compelled me to say we need to draw a line through sectionalism in the world. If the educational system was not culturally bias smart intellectual immigrants who are literate could pursue their dreams to be intellitually challenged. In addition black colleges offer quality and equal education compared to any college. Overall I enjoyed the book.

Black Women/Black Literature

What really fascinated me about this particular text is the overall structure of the dialogue in an interview process. Presented here is a dialogue between the author Joanne Kilgour Dowdy and educator Christina McVay. The passage starts with McVay describing herself such as where she was born and raised and various details about her educational background. This opening question from Dowdy allows the reader to get to know McVay in a personal light. McVay's personal experiences also provide the audience with a blueprint as to how this unlikely professor got involved with teaching English in the Pan-African department at Kent State University. What makes Christina McVay an unlikely candidate to teach this particular topic is because she is Caucasian teaching this topic to a predominantly white student population.

McVay described this as teaching something of an alien nature that is alien to both her and the students. Later in her teaching career McVay was transferred to teach in a more suitable environment, an environment that would more than likely appreciate Pan-African English.

What I find to be truly fascinating about McVay's experiences at Kent State is that everything that occurred happened for a reason. She had majored in German and Russian while trying to teach herself Greek and Arabic but instead went on to teach English.

What I found interesting about McVay is she is aware of that fact that many students typically do not find joy in English. I feel as though I am one of those students. One of the problems with English for me is I feel it is not easy to relate to because it was something that has been around for thousands of years and it is rather passed down from generation to generation. What McVay showed me and her students is that English can be intriguing. One of her tactics to gain interest in the English language is to have her students create a slang dictionary. This slang dictionary is to be used much like a regular dictionary with the pronunciation and examples and definitions of how a particular word can be used. I admire the fact that McVay knew how to make slang educational yet intriguing. With McVay now teaching a predominantly black student population she found a way to relate to her students while still having a teachers perspective included.

Overall in this interview the audience was able to gain a fuller understanding of Christina McVay and how her educational techniques have allowed students to gain a fuller understanding of the English language and how it is not just about the English consensus but also black English. McVay revealed that it is acceptable to include black literature in a school curriculum and she allowed students to find how they themselves can connect to literature. McVay showed that teaching did not have to be traditional but that a teacher can relate to her students. McVay provided teaching strategies to teachers and hope in the English language and English literature to students.

-Kori Coleman

Literacy and the Black Woman- Sharon M. Darling

The first sentence of this text was, "The Black woman represents strength and endurance, yet she also represents what we consider to be at risk and poverty." This oxymoronic statement troubled me. I'd like to think that my race and gender represents strength and endurance as a whole, but I cannot ignore the "risk" and "poverty" words.

I would notice "at-risk" students in my school all the time. The were at-risk because, one, they didn't apply themselves and two, they didn't have a role model for encouragement and motivation.

When I read this selection, some of my observations began to come together and make sense. The illiterate Black woman in earlier times did not have access to education because the whites prohibited it, and if there was an opportunity for education, it was limited and structured to regulate black girls to lower positions in society (pg.17). Or, the Black woman would become a young mother, resulting in not finishing or continuing her education. In further reading, confirmed by The National Coalition on Women and Girls in Education, it says that the literacy levels of children are dramatically affected by that of their parents. On page 20 it also claims that illiterate woman are less likely to read or have literature-based interactions with their children.
This upsets me because how are we supposed to have a hope for better future generations when there are family members who are not making an effort. I also realized that I was brought up differently than many of my classmates because my parents spoke to me with proper English and always encouraged my brother and me to read and check out books at the library on the weekends.

It’s sad because black women are still perceived as being illiterate and in poverty, yet there are plenty who are trying to become successful. This is why I am grateful for institutions like Spelman because they focus on uplifting women in general, giving us confidence to achieve any goal that is set. I believe that women who continue education and are interested in bettering themselves are great role models for our future generations. Women like Michelle Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Oprah are setting the standard and making younger generations realize their potential and given opportunities.