Content Objectives
Literacy During Slavery
From the moment the first slave arrived in the Americas, was placed in chains and forced into servitude, there was and has always been a rebellion against the system of slavery by the slave. Rebellion can be practiced and executed in different forms. Rebellions enacted by fighting or fleeing the system of slavery can be seen in the stories of Harriet Tubman and Nat Turner, but also other rebellions were done through gaining freedom of the mind through literacy as seen in the story of Frederick Douglass. As a slave, one did not have the rights over one's own body and at times mind. Many slave masters, in an effort to maintain the system of obedient servant to master, prevented and discouraged the educating of slaves. The fear rested in the sentiment, that if slaves were to learn how to read and write, then more rebellions would occur, and slaves eventually would free themselves from the system. Although prohibited, blacks still pursued the skill of literacy during slavery. In some instances, slave owners would teach slaves how to read, or even allow slaves to teach themselves and others how to read.
This situation of teaching and learning on the plantation at times was rooted in religious sentiments. Slave masters wanting to convert their slaves to the religion of Christianity, would permit the learning and reading of the Bible on the plantation. Although different from their own culture, many slaves became intrigued to learn the skill of reading due to having curiosity about the religion of Christianity. Religion played a major role in literacy in the south on the plantation. This is evident in the story of Thomas Johnson an enslaved African American from Richmond, Virginia, which Janet Cornelius discusses in her book When I Can Read My Title Clear: Literacy, Slavery, and Religion. Johnson would convert to Christianity during the Great Revival of 1857. “Soon after his conversion, Johnson felt a deep desire to preach the Gospel, but he was faced with two difficulties; he was a slave, and could not read the Bible, a skill which as a preacher he was expected to have.”1 His efforts to become a preacher and leader within in the black community would fuel his actions in becoming literate. Outside of the earlier teachings of his mother, in regard to his learning of the alphabet, Johnson would learn the skill of literacy by teaching himself how to read and interpret the Bible. “He secreted an old Bible in his room and poured over it in his spare time, beginning with Gensis and calling out the letters of each word he would not understand: “In the b-e-ginning God c-r-e-a-t-e-d the heavens and the earth.” 2
Another example of this religious sentiment can be seen in the story Frederick Douglass recounts in his writings when the mistress of his plantation began to teach him how to read. Hearing her at times read aloud from the Bible, Douglass grew a curiosity to learn more about the religion and the skill of literacy. One day he would ask for his mistress to teach him how to read, and to his surprise she agreed. “Up to this time I had known nothing whatsoever of this wonderful art, and my ignorance and inexperience of what it could do for me, as well as my confidence in my mistress, emboldened me to ask her to teach me to read. With an unconsciousness and inexperience equal to my own, she readily consented, and in an incredibly short time, by her kind assistance, I had mastered the alphabet and could spell words of three or four letters.”3 Douglass in his writings would note that his lessons would stop once the mistress’s husband, the slave master, found out she was teaching him. Upon this knowledge the master forced his wife to stop all lessons and upon hearing the master’s disdain for his learning, Douglass noted that at this moment in his life his spirit grew to a new level of rebellion. This rebellious spirit not only fueled his motivations to obtain literacy, but also fueled his actions to gain freedom and excel later in his political career. Frederick Douglass’ story is one of many, that highlight the efforts of enslaved individuals trying to obtain literacy.
Arnold Woodson, a slave from Indiana, in his account about his experience in slavery and aspect of literacy on the plantation, spoke to the yearning for slaves to read and noted some of the obstacles they were met with in their pursuits. “In most of us colored folks was the desire to read and write. We took advantage of every opportunity to educate ourselves. The greater part of the plantation owners were very harsh if we were caught trying to learn or write. It was law that if a white man was caught trying to educate a negro slave, he was liable to prosecution entailing a fine of fifty dollars and a jail sentence.”4 Slaves, if caught reading or trying to learn, were at times met with brutal physical punishment and torture. Despite the fear or punishment, many slaves still sought to continue their journey to learn how to read and write. Like Woodson, many understood that reading not only allowed them to understand the world outside of the plantation, but it also gave them a tool to understand how to maneuver in the world once they were free. Woodson noted that “our ignorance was the greatest hold the South had on us. We knew we could run away, but what then?” 5
On the plantation, literacy was a tool used to understand what was happening in the outside world. Information was gained through reading books or newspapers along with aural and oral systems, which aided them in their literacy skills and understanding the world. In Heather Andrea Williams’ book Self Taught: African American Education in Slavery and Freedom, she speaks to how slaves developed a system of listening not only to learn but also to understand. “As important as literacy was to slaves who employed it in service of their own freedom or for the benefit of others, enslaved African Americans also had other ways of knowing. They relied heavily on oral and aural systems of information.”6 This sentiment can be seen in her discussion of John Quincy Adams, an enslaved boy from Virginia who utilized his “eavesdropping skills” to help him in his literacy efforts on the plantation. "Whenever he heard a white person reading aloud, he lingered to listen, replying “nothing” when asked what he wanted. Then, at the first opportunity, he repeated to his parents everything he had heard. They, in turn, encouraged him to “try to hear all you can, but don’t let them know it”. By listening in this manner, Adams was able to inform his parents of an impending election that the owners wanted to keep from the slaves.”7 Williams also would discuss the efforts of slaves, who despite receiving constant punishment when found reading or hiding reading materials, continued upon their pursuits of literacy. In this instance I find the aspect of gaining literacy or even practicing the skill of reading and writing, as an act rebellion and defiance. Slaves although they had no control over their body, would use the skill of reading as a tool to free their minds and rebel against their masters.
When one hears the world “rebellion”, violence and bloodshed often comes to mind, but in Williams’ writings she shows how rebellions could be done on a smaller scale as well. This can be seen in Williams’ discussion of Ellen Turner, who consistently rebelled not by fighting, but by taking newspaper clippings and hanging them in her room. In this instance, Williams noted that masters in the south sought to remove all reading materials, due to the knowledge growing on the plantations about the Civil War. It was the fear that if the slaves knew about the war efforts, many could possibly runaway or rebel. In this instance Turner’s master searched her room “and upon finding a newspaper picture of Abrahm Lincoln pasted on the wall, angrily demanded an explanation. When Turner, refusing to suppress her own feelings, replied that she had hung the picture because she liked it, a livid Lewis knocked her to the ground and sent her to the trader’s yard for a month as punishment.” 8
Finding “a way out of no way” is the resounding theme that is laden within the stories of slaves in their journey to literacy. House slaves, when told they were not allowed to learn to read or write, at times would “entice their young white charges to pass on what they learned in school. Alice Green recalled that her mother learned to read by keeping a schoolbook in her bosom all the time asking the white children to tell her everything they had learned in school each day.”9 When reading Williams’ accounts of slaves and their tactics in obtaining information to become literate, my spirit filled with a sense of pride. In my eyes they were stories of superheroes and spies learning information to win ground in the battle of slavery. There was a genius in their actions. Reading and writing as noted earlier were seen as tools rebellion, tools for obtaining knowledge and understanding of the outside world, but slaves also used literacy to create space for oneself; space to learn, to imagine, to hide, and to grow. This sentiment of space can be seen in Williams’ discussion of the “pit schools”, where slaves in secrecy would dig large holes in the ground to read and learn how to read in privacy, away from the discerning eye of the master. One of the slaves Williams discusses is Mandy Jones. Jones in her accounts of slavery and literacy on the plantation, gave note to remembering slaves going to the extent of learning how to read and write in caves and in these “pit schools” in order to gain their freedom on the mind. “Slaves would slip out of the Quarters at night, and got to dese pits, an some niggah dat had some learning would have a school.” 10 I imagine in these “pit schools” my ancestors could find rest, safety, and solace. In their efforts in obtaining literacy, slaves created many skills and even places to further their pursuits of gaining information for understanding and gaining freedom.
Literacy During Reconstruction
“I have prepared this book expressly for you, with the hope that those of you who can read will read it aloud to others, and that all of you will derive fresh strength and courage from this true record of what colored men have accomplished, under great disadvantages.”
- Lydia Maria Child (Freedmen’s Schools and Textbooks Volume 6)
The period of Reconstruction was ushered in by the federal government after the triumphs of Union soldiers defeating the Confederate south. Although short and fleeting, the time during the Reconstruction era was filled with hope and change for the African American community within the nation. “In March of 1865 Congress established the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, commonly referred to as the Freedmen’s Bureau in the Department of war.”11 This organization set out with the goal of establishing schools and opportunities for African Americans in the nation. In the state of Virginia, the skill of literacy and the institution of education was not only limited to blacks, but also to poor whites. Now that the Civil War was over, state governments were now charged to amend their constitutions to now adhere to the new goals of the country. In the state of Virginia during its constitutional convention, an amendment was placed in law for the state to provide free public education to all. Before this, many Virginians, who did not have the means of the rich and elite, did not have formal education. Before Reconstruction, the enslaved were discouraged and forbidden to learn reading and writing, while poor whites could not afford to send their children to private schools or pay for tutors. This all changed in July of 1869 when Virginia established in its constitution the mandate for public education to be afforded to all. Unfortunately, this change did not signify togetherness and segregated schools would be put in place throughout the state. 12
Before the discussion of the establishment Freedmen Schools in the state of Virginia, it is also important to acknowledge the schools created by African Americans before the era Reconstruction. The Freedmen Schools that would go on to be established in later years would have many influences from those institutions that were established during slavery. This can be seen in the development of schools in northern Virginia. “In 1862 a formerly enslaved man from Petersburg opened Virginia’s first high school for African Americans, the Beulah Normal and Theological School in Alexandria.”13 This would be the establishment of the first high school for African Americans in the state. Resounding again within this discussion, is the presence of Christianity and its uses by the black community to gain acceptance or even access to education and parts of society. This can also be seen in the teachings within Freedmen Schools, and in the naming of many Freedmen Schools. As stated previously Virginia, unlike the many of the other southern states during Reconstruction, pushed to create multiple institutions of learning for African Americans. Yes, they were segregated, but their presence and functionality alone would yield great rewards and create avenues which led to success, wealth, and power within the African American community. This can be seen in the development of the Richmond Colored Normal School, which name would later be changed to Armstrong High School in Richmond, Virginia, and the Jefferson School established in Charlottesville, Virginia.
In the fall of 1865 the Jefferson School, opened its door to African American children in Charlottesville, Virginia.14 Named after Thomas Jefferson, the school was created to educate the newly freed population of students in Virginia. The school’s success in sustainability and growth throughout the years is attributed to the efforts of two women, Anna Gardner and Isabella Gibbons. Gardner, who was raised in an abolitionist family from Massachusetts, came to Charlottesville, Virginia from New Bern, North Carolina. Upon her arrival she would meet Isabella Gibbons, who was a former nursemaid for a prominent white family before the end of the Civil War. The school in which these two women would build, would create the foundation for a new community of black intellectuals and leaders within Charlottesville, Virginia. Andrea Douglas, the Executive Director of The Jefferson School African American Heritage Center, noted in the book titled Pride Overcomes Prejudice: A History of Charlottesville’s African American School that “The Jefferson School’s strong story is the prism through which America’s modern history can be viewed. Sited between the World Heritage Site comprised of Monticello and the University of Virginia, the school’s story answers the question of what happened to the community of free blacks and the enslaved people living in Albemarle County after 1865.”15 It is here at the Jefferson School that Gardner and Gibbons are able to educate a population of students, who are eager to learn the skill of literacy; a skill that was seen to be precious and necessary for growth and movement within society. As seen in other places across the south, in Charlottesville religion once again would be a driving force in the means of obtaining literacy. In regard to the establishment of the Jefferson school, curator Laurant Lee of the Virginia Historical Society recognizes in her writings that education was a “valuable tool out of disenfranchisement, where some slaves were willing to incur the wrath of their owners, acquired education surreptitiously. When freedom came, they then formed church school’s that taught how to read and write “the Word.” Anna Gardner encountered this tenacious spirit when she came to Charlottesville to head the city’s freedmen schools.” 16
Once Gardner arrived and met Gibbons, she became impressed by Gibbon's literacy skills. From there Gardner began to train Gibbons to be her assistant teacher. Gibbons herself before her introduction to Garner, already had taught African Americans in her community the skill of literacy. As a mother, wife of a minister, and teacher, Gibbons stands in this story as a monument of change, perseverance, and hope. Gardner would later request for Gibbons to be paid $10.00 per month for teaching in the school. Isabella Gibbons would go on to become a key figure and component which led to the success of The Jefferson School, and looked to as an example of progression and black achievement in regards to the functionality of Reconstruction at the time. “New England Freedmen’s Aid Society officials wrote in their newsletter that Gibbons “wished to perfect her own education and become a teacher of the people.” They noted also her support for Union: “She is doubly precious to: our hearts, as the devoted nurse of one of the noblest and best – beloved of our young officers, who died a prisoner in rebel hands.” Selected as a role model, Gibbons became part of the vanguard of the reconstructed South.”17 The Jefferson School by the merits of these two women would later expand to create a high school in the 1920s, and also give way to the development of a thriving black community in Charlottesville, Virginia that would generate new avenues which led to the development of black wealth for the African Americans during Reconstruction and for generations to come. A similar yield can be seen in Richmond, Virginia regarding the establishment of The Richmond Normal Colored School, which would later be named Armstrong High School after Union General Samuel Armstong, who would later establish Hampton University.
Established with aid from the Freedmen’s Bureau, The Richmond Normal Colored School was founded in 1865 during the era of Reconstruction in Richmond, Virginia. Like the Jefferson school, the Richmond Normal Colored School had the mission of teaching the skill of literacy to the newly freed black population. The Richmond Normal Colored School, unlike the Jefferson School, was initially created as a high school. The school would produce students who would become key figures in the growth of the black community within the city. Some of these monumental figures were that of Maggie L. Walker, John Mitchell Jr., Sarah Garland Boyd Jones, and L. Douglas Wilder to name a few. L. Douglas Wilder would graduate from Armstrong High School and then Howard University, to then lead a successful political career. Wilder would become the state of Virgina and the nation’s first African American governor. Wilder would be a successor graduating in 1947 in regard to Walker, Mitchell, and Garland who graduated in 1883, but it also important to note his story, since it also sheds a light on how Freedmen schools were successful in educating and producing students who would help establish a new intellectual and powerful black community in Richmond, Virginia.
The relationship and connections between Mitchell, Walker, and Garland would be extremely significant in regard to one looking at the yield of educated and literate students from Armstong High School immediately after the war. All three were classmates and or peers within the high school during similar years. Once they all graduated, in their own way they supported and celebrated each other in their efforts in elevating the black community in Richmond, Viriginia. This can be seen with John Mitchell Jr. “John Mitchell Jr. was a prominent newspaper editor, politician, banker, and civil rights activist. Born enslaved near Richmond, Mitchell attended the Richmond Colored Normal School and taught for a year before he and other black teachers were fired by a new Democratic school board. He then went into journalism, in 1884 becoming editor of the Richmond Planet, an African American weekly newspaper. Mitchell used the Planet to promote civil rights, racial justice, and racial pride.”18 Mitchell would often write about the accomplishments and strides of his peers in the newspaper. Mitchell notably wrote about his peer Sarah Jones, who would graduate from Howard University and become the first black woman to pass the Virginia Medical Examining Board Exam, along with also acknowledging the great feats of his peer Maggie L. Walker. Walker was” the first African American woman to establish a bank in the United States. Walker served as president of the bank for nearly thirty years, increasing its assets tenfold, and steering it through economic turmoil.” 19 Historians and observers of these monumental figures within African American history in Richmond, Virginia have noted this connection and or network of students from this Freedmen school, and how it influenced the growth of the African American community in Richmond Virgina. As seen in the sentiments of Cassandra Newby- Alexander, she highlights how Mitchell the editor of the Richmond Planet highlights the work of Sarah Jones, and Jones is noted how she recounts the sense of sisterhood and support with her former classmate Maggie L. Walker. “The Richmond Planet newspaper observed how Sarah Jones demonstrated her power as a “pioneer exponent of the principle of woman’s rights” because of her willingness to take the reins and initiate action among her peers. Like her counterpart, Maggie Walker, who pioneered a clear bond of sisterhood and mutual support through her work in the black female-owned insurance company Woman’s Union, Sarah drew support from this sister hood that nurtured an environment of accomplished black women.”20
Furthermore, the establishment of Freedmen Schools during the time period of Reconstruction was able to provide the skill of literacy to the newly freed African American population within the nation. Although this time period would not last long, and many parts of the country would once again place constraints on members of the African American community in regard to obtaining literacy during the era of Jim Crow, it is important to acknowledge how these institutions would lay the foundation for many of the educational institutions that we have today that provide literacy.
Comments: