Education Is Power
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“Education is the most empowering force in the world. It creates knowledge, builds confidence, and breaks down barriers to opportunity.” Save the Children International CEO, Helle Thorning-Schmidt
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USA SLAVE EDUCATION HISTORY
In the 18th century there were no schools in the southern states of America that admitted black children to its free public schools. Fearing that black literacy would prove a threat to the slave system, whites in the Deep South passed laws forbidding slaves to learn to read or write and making it a crime for others to teach them.
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Slave owners feared that slaves would be able to read the inspiring messages written by abolitionists and the news of slavery ending in places such as Haiti and the British Empire. It also gave slaves an opportunity to read about the thousands of enslaved African Americans who utilized things like the underground railroad to their advantage. Lastly, while reading was common for religious practices, writing was known and regarded as a sign of power and status, something which a slave was never supposed to have.
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Nevertheless, slaves continued to get an education through unconventional and often dangerous ways. Freed African Americans, remorseful and sympathetic whites, and informal schools all operated throughout our history. Additionally, slaves used songs, storytelling, music, and games to carry on cultural traditions, secret information, and other important news.
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After the Civil war brought freedom to the slaves of the south, it was time to tackle the new battle of living and surviving as free citizens. With little to nothing but the clothes on their back, slaves everywhere rallied together to help their sisters and brothers. Mothers learned alongside daughters and grandmothers. There was no age limit on education.
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For some, the goal was to simply read the bible. Others wanted to protect themselves from thieves, con artists, and their former masters. They did not want to depend on another to read for them.
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Schools opened up throughout the US. Private organizations, ministries, and donors all pulled together to give an education to anybody who wanted one. People met at night and day, in sheds, cars, churches, and kitchens. In one classroom, a six year-old girl sat alongside her mother, her grandmother, and her great-grandmother, who was over seventy-five years old. All of whom were learning to read for the very first time.
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Watch this video to get a better understanding of the history of African American Education in the United States.
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This video also has closed captioning services by clicking on the "CC" icon in the bottom right of the video screen.
TODAYS FACTS:
Information can be found on the UNCF website which is cited below.
- African American students are less likely than white students to have access to college-ready courses
- 2011-12, only 57 percent of black students have access to a full range of math and science courses necessary for college readiness, compared to with 81 percent of Asian American students and 71 percent of white students.
- Students of color are often concentrated in schools with fewer resources
- Schools with 90 percent or more students of color spend $733 less per student per year than schools with 90 percent or more white students.
- African American students are often located in schools with less qualified teachers, teachers with lower salaries and novice teachers.
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This video depicts a panel of esteemed educational and civic leaders. This video also has closed captioning services by clicking on the "CC" icon in the bottom right of the video screen.
“To deny education to any people,” Fredrick Douglass said, “is one of the greatest crimes against human nature. It is to deny them the means of freedom and the rightful pursuit of happiness, and to defeat the very end of their being.”
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In an article titled, 'Education...Means Emancipation' written by ROCCITYNEWS, the author writes,
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"Douglass would want us to get the same education despite our skin color, our home location, and our interest in learning. We’ve identified the issues of segregation and education inequality, but we must find the steps to heal our education system and expand the minds of the belittled.
To improve our school systems, we must start by valuing each student the same. We have to treat every learner the same despite talent, interest, disability, race, sexual orientation, and so on because that is what Douglass would want. Many times we take the education we get and settle for less. We’re afraid to ask for the same education as the white child. The abolitionist would not want us to be afraid to ask for a better education, because as a people we were once denied an education."
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EDUCATION IS POWER
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Education gives us power. Power gives you autonomy and the ability to stand up for yourself and what you believe in.
Here is a list of why education is power.
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1. It helps us stand up to wrongful treatment
2. Education spreads awareness
3. Education is empowering
4. It gives people autonomy
5. No development without Education
6. Education means participation
7. Education means opportunities
TO EXTEND YOUR LEARNING...
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This is a common slave song or 'song of survival' with images depicting the evils of slavery. Slave songs were used as a way of spreading hope and also passing information.
Please note that this video also provides closed captioning services by clicking on the icon "CC" on the bottom right corner of the video.
Watch the video below to get a deeper understanding of the organization, The Freedmen's Bureau, which helped and aided hundreds of thousands newly emancipated slaves after the Civil War.
This video provides closed captioning services if you click on the bottom right icon displayed as "CC" on the video.
Sources:
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K-12 Disparity Facts and Statistics. (2020, March 20). Retrieved December 02, 2020, from
https://uncf.org/pages/k-12-disparity-facts-and-stats
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Roccitynews, P. (2019, February 19). Education...means emancipation. Retrieved December 02, 2020, from https://rocdouglass.com/2019/02/12/education-means-emancipation/
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"Education Means Emancipation". (n.d.). Retrieved December 02, 2020, from https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2010/05/10/education-means-emancipation
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Grayson, R. (2010, December 11). "The History of African American Education" by Rebekah Grayson. Retrieved December 04, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iw6SkZXlS0
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SXSWEDU. (2018, March 09). Black Education in America | SXSW EDU 2018. Retrieved December 04, 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhpevvR5qeU
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​Freedmen's Bureau | Celebrate Black History [Video file]. (2019, February 6). Retrieved 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcb5fiYmaDY
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The page was assembled by: Abbie Glaser