1hls ls an excerpL from Lhe LexL ?

oung ClfLed and 8lack - lreedom for

LlLeracy by 1heresa erry

Law and cusLom made lL a crlme for enslaved men and women Lo learn or
Leach oLhers Lo read and wrlLe. And yeL slave narraLlves unlformly recounL
Lhe lnLenslLy of Lhe slaves' and ex-slaves' deslre for llLeracy, Lhe barrlers
Lhey encounLered ln becomlng llLeraLe, and whaL Lhey were wllllng Lo
endure ln order Lo become llLeraLe. Lven Lhe LhreaL of beaLlng, ampuLaLlon,
or deaLh dld noL quell Lhe slaves' deslre for llLeracy. Accordlng Lo Lhe
LesLlmony of one slave, 1he flrsL Llme you was caughL Lrylng Lo read or
wrlLe you was whlpped wlLh a cow hlde Lhe nexL Llme wlLh a caL-o-nlne and
Lhe Lhlrd Llme Lhey cuL Lhe flrsL [olnL offen your foreflnger" (Cornellus 1991,
66). 1here are Lhe sLorles of slaves who were hanged when Lhey were
dlscovered readlng, and of paLrollers who wenL around breaklng up Sunday
meeLlngs where slaves were belng LaughL Lo read, beaLlng all of Lhe adulLs
who were presenL. Slaves ca[oled whlLe chlldren lnLo Leachlng Lhem,
Lradlng marbles and candy for readlng lessons. 1hey pald large sums of
money Lo poor whlLe people for readlng lessons and were always on Lhe
lookouL for Llme wlLh Lhe blue black speller (a school dlcLlonary), or for an
occaslon Lo learn from Lhelr masLers and mlsLresses wlLhouL Lhelr knowlng.
lor Lhe slaves, llLeracy was more Lhan a symbol of freedom, lL was freedom.
lL afflrmed Lhelr humanlLy, Lhelr personhood. 1o be able Lo read and wrlLe
was an lnLrlnslc good, as well as a mlghLy weapon ln Lhe slave's sLruggle for
freedom. LlLeraLe slaves flled legal peLlLlons, proLesLlng and challenglng
Lhelr enslavemenL, Lhey forged passes for Lhemselves and oLhers, Lhus
allowlng escape from Lhe horrors of slavery. LlLeraLe slaves read
newspapers and pamphleLs and kepL Lhemselves and Lhe slave communlLy
lnformed abouL Lhe anLlslavery movemenL and Lhe war. uenmark vesey,
uavld Walker, naL 1urner, and oLher llLeraLe slaves led rebelllons and wroLe
pamphleLs and LracLs denounclng and exposlng Lhe slave sysLem. 1hey read
Lhe 8lble, lnLerpreLlng lLs message ln a way LhaL supporLed reslsLance and
rebelllons. Whlle learnlng Lo read was an lndlvldual achlevemenL, lL was
fundamenLally a communal acL. lor Lhe slaves, llLeracy afflrmed noL only
Lhelr lndlvldual freedom buL also Lhe freedom of Lhelr people. 8ecomlng
llLeraLe obllged one Lo Leach oLhers. Learnlng and Leachlng were Lwo sldes
of Lhe same coln, parL of Lhe same momenL. LlLeracy was noL someLhlng
you kepL for yourself, lL was Lo be passed on Lo oLhers, Lo Lhe communlLy.
LlLeracy was someLhlng Lo share. lrederlck uouglass 1he narraLlve of Lhe
Llfe of lrederlck uouglass can be vlewed as a represenLaLlve slave narraLlve
LexL, one LhaL capLures wlLh unusual clarlLy and power Lhe meanlng of
learnlng and llLeracy for Afrlcan Amerlcans. lrederlck uouglass had Lhe
good forLune of havlng a mlsLress, Mrs. Auld, who began Lhe process of
Leachlng hlm Lo read. uouglass descrlbes Mrs. Auld as a woman who was
dlfferenL from any oLher whlLe woman he had known, a dlfference he
aLLrlbuLed Lo boLh her prevlously havlng never been ln charge of slaves and
her havlng worked on her own for a llvlng. Mrs. Auld- aL leasL for a Llme-
dld noL requlre or expecL of slaves Lhe usual klnd of servlle behavlor. And
yeL Lhls seemlngly humane lndlvldual would ulLlmaLely be Lransformed by
Lhe slave sysLem, evenLually becomlng as lnLenL as oLher slaveholders on
creaLlng lmpedlmenLs Lo uouglass's pursulL of llLeracy. When Mrs. Auld's
husband found her Leachlng uouglass Lo read, he demanded LhaL she sLop
lmmedlaLely. WhaL was slgnlflcanL ln Lhls encounLer was noL slmply Lhe
vehemence and force wlLh whlch Mr. Auld forbade hls wlfe Lo Leach
uouglass, buL Lhe reasons he gave for Lhls prohlblLlon- reasons LhaL
assuredly were heard Llme and Llme agaln by enslaved Afrlcans, reasons
LhaL ulLlmaLely came Lo shape Lhe meanlng LhaL uouglass and oLher
Afrlcans aLLached Lo llLeracy, learnlng, readlng, wrlLlng, and educaLlon.
Accordlng Lo Mr. Auld, educaLlon would spoll a nlgger," make hlm unflL Lo
be a slave, make hlm dlsconLenL, unhappy, and unmanageable. Mr. Auld's
lecLure and lesson on Lhe lncompaLlblllLy of slavery and educaLlon
profoundly affecLed uouglass. lndeed, ouL of uouglass's llved experlences,
ouL of hls lnLeracLlon wlLh hls mlsLress and masLer, emerges hls phllosophy
of educaLlon. And agalnsL Lhe backdrop of Lhls prohlblLlon, uouglass ls
unequlvocal abouL Lhe meanlng, Lhe power, and Lhe posslblllLles he and
oLher Afrlcans wlll come Lo aLLach Lo readlng and wrlLlng. ln Lhe Afrlcan-
Amerlcan narraLlve LradlLlon, few lndlvlduals arLlculaLe wlLh such clarlLy Lhe
hlsLorlc Afrlcan-Amerlcan phllosophy of schoollng, of learnlng: freedom for
llLeracy and llLeracy for freedom. Conslder Lhe words of uouglass: lrom
LhaL momenL, l undersLood Lhe paLhway from slavery Lo freedom. lL was
[usL whaL l wanLed, and l goL lL aL a Llme when l leasL expecLed. WhllsL l was
saddened by Lhe LhoughL of loslng Lhe ald of my klnd mlsLress, l was
gladdened by Lhe lnvaluable lnsLrucLlon whlch, by meresL accldenL, l had
galned from my masLer. 1hough consclous of Lhe dlfflculLy of learnlng
wlLhouL a Leacher, l seL ouL wlLh hlgh hope and a flxed purpose, aL
whaLever cosL of Lrouble, Lo learn how Lo read. 1he declded manner wlLh
whlch he spoke, and sLrove Lo lmpress hls wlfe wlLh Lhe evll consequences
of glvlng me lnsLrucLlon served Lo convlnce me LhaL he was deeply senslble
of Lhe LruLhs he was uLLerlng. lL gave me Lhe besL assurance LhaL l mlghL
rely wlLh Lhe uLmosL confldence on Lhe resulLs whlch, he sald, would flow
from Leachlng me Lo read. WhaL he mosL feared, LhaL l mosL deslred. WhaL
he mosL loved, LhaL l mosL haLed. 1haL whlch Lo hlm was a greaL evll, Lo be
carefully shunned, was Lo me a greaL good, Lo be dlllgenLly soughL, and Lhe
argumenL whlch he so warmly waged, agalnsL my learnlng Lo read, only
seemed Lo lnsplred me wlLh a deslre and deLermlnaLlon Lo learn. (uouglass
1968, 47- 48) And, of course, Lhe seemlngly humane Mrs. Auld complled
wlLh Lhe demands of her husband. She was, ln facL, ulLlmaLely Lransformed
by Lhe slave sysLem, becomlng even more deLermlned Lhan Mr. Auld Lo
prevenL uouglass from learnlng Lo read. lf she saw uouglass readlng a
newspaper, she would, wlLh greaL fury, grab lL ouL of hls hand. lf uouglass
was alone ln a room for a slgnlflcanL perlod of Llme, suspecLlng LhaL he was
readlng, she would come and look for hlm. Per deLermlnaLlon Lo keep
uouglass from readlng was maLched and exceeded by uouglass's
deLermlnaLlon Lo learn how Lo read and wrlLe. uouglass creaLed
opporLunlLles, openlngs, when Lhere appeared Lo be none. Pe made frlends
wlLh poor whlLe chlldren, and whenever he wenL on errands, he Look hls
book and some bread (whlch was readlly avallable aL Lhe Auld house),
whlch he gave Lo Lhe chlldren ln exchange for readlng lessons. Cnce he had
learned Lo read, uouglass read books LhaL deepened hls undersLandlng of
slavery and argumenLs agalnsL lL. As Mr. Auld had predlcLed, Lhe more he
read, Lhe more resLless, dlsconLenL, and unhappy he became. Pls deslre for
freedom became unquenchable. AbouL Lhe lmpacL of readlng on hlm,
uouglass says, As l read and conLemplaLed Lhe sub[ecL,. Lhe very
dlsconLenL whlch MasLer Pugh had predlcLed would follow my learnlng Lo
read had already come Lo LormenL and sLlng my soul Lo unuLLerable
angulsh. 1he sllver Lrump of freedom had aroused my soul Lo eLernal
wakefulness. lreedom now appeared, Lo dlsappear no more forever. lL was
heard ln every sound, and seen ln every Lhlng.. l saw noLhlng wlLhouL
seelng lL, l heard noLhlng wlLhouL feellng lL. lL looked from every sLar, lL
smlled ln every calm, breaLhed ln every wlnd, and moved ln every sLar. (33)
uouglass demonsLraLed Lhe same perslsLence and lnLenslLy ln learnlng Lo
wrlLe as he had ln learnlng Lo read. Pls vlslon was LhaL learnlng Lo wrlLe
would evenLually enable hlm Lo wrlLe hlmself a pass, Lo be used ln hls
escape Lo freedom. uouglass descrlbes hls learnlng Lo wrlLe as a long and
Ledlous efforL" (36). LvenLually uouglass would be moved Lo a smaller
planLaLlon. ln Lhls new seLLlng, afLer noLlng Lhe deslre Lo read ln some of hls
enslaved breLhren, and nurLurlng lL ln oLhers, he organlzed a SabbaLh
school, whlch meL on SaLurdays, and durlng Lhe wlnLer someLlmes as ofLen
as Lhree Llmes a week. ln reflecLlng on Lhe deep saLlsfacLlon he experlenced
ln Leachlng oLher enslaved Afrlcans, uouglass conflrms LhaL he lndeed saw
educaLlon as Lled Lo Lhe llberaLlon and raclal upllfL of hls people: 1hey
were greaL days Lo my soul. 1he work of lnsLrucLlng my fellow slaves was
Lhe sweeLesL engagemenL whlch l was ever blessed.. l LaughL Lhem
because lL was Lhe dellghL of my soul Lo be dolng someLhlng LhaL looked
llke beLLerlng Lhe condlLlon of my race" (88). lL was a small group of
lndlvlduals from uouglass's SabbaLh school who would evenLually
parLlclpaLe wlLh uouglass ln a plan Lo escape slavery. As uouglass had
lmaglned, forglng passes for Lhose lnvolved would be cenLral Lo Lhe escape
plan. AlLhough Lhls escape Lo Lhe norLh was folled, uouglass would
evenLually succeed ln escaplng slavery, become acLlve ln Lhe anLlslavery
movemenL, and wrlLe Lhree narraLlves of hls llfe as an enslaved Afrlcan. Pls
narraLlves, llke oLher slave narraLlves, became a vehlcle for exposlng Lhe
lnhumanlLy of Lhe sysLem of slavery and argulng for lLs abollLlon. erhaps
mosL lmporLanL, Lhey allowed hlm Lo asserL hlmself as a llLeraLe and llLerary
person, as a human and as a free man. ParrleL !acobs lemlnlsL llLerary
scholars have argued LhaL SLepLo's and CaLes's conLenLlon LhaL Lhe Lheme
embedded ln Lhe slave narraLlves, freedom for llLeracy and llLeracy for
freedom, cannoL be so easlly applled Lo narraLlves wrlLLen by female slaves.
ParrleL !acobs's lncldenLs ln Lhe Llfe of a Slave Clrl ls presenLed as an
example of a female slave narraLlve whose cenLral Lheme ls Lhe sLruggle for
freedom and home. Powever, l would argue LhaL Lhe Lheme of freedom for
llLeracy and llLeracy for freedom ls as cenLral Lo !acobs's narraLlve as lL ls Lo
uouglass's. ParrleL !acobs was born ln LdenLon, norLh Carollna, ln 1813.
Per moLher dled when she was slx years of age. She grew up under Lhe
waLchful eye and love of her grandmoLher. AlLhough ParrleL was enslaved
unLll she was flfLy years old, her grandmoLher, who was also a slave, had
her own home and was able Lo make money for herself and her famlly by
selllng crackers LhaL she made aL nlghL. ParrleL !acobs was LaughL Lo read
and wrlLe by her mlsLress. AL eleven years of age, afLer Lhe deaLh of her
mlsLress, ParrleL was wllled Lo her mlsLress's Lwo-year-old daughLer. As
ParrleL maLured, she would be consLanLly sexually LhreaLened by her young
mlsLress's faLher, ur. lllnL. !acobs ls clear ln her narraLlve and leLLers LhaL
she ls wrlLlng her narraLlve so LhaL she can lllumlnaLe Lhe parLlcular ways ln
whlch slavery affecLs Lhe enslaved female, as moLher and woman. As
punlshmenL for reslsLlng Lhe sexual advances of ur. lllnL and refuslng Lo
become hls concublne, ParrleL ls senL Lo llve on a nearby planLaLlon wlLh
ur. lllnL's son. Whlle Lhere, she learns LhaL ur. lllnL ls plannlng Lo arrange
for her Lwo chlldren, who are llvlng wlLh her grandmoLher, Lo come Lo llve
wlLh her on Lhe planLaLlon. ParrleL desperaLely doesn'L wanL her chlldren Lo
llve on Lhe planLaLlon. She ls especlally opposed Lo havlng her daughLer
come Lo llve on Lhe planLaLlon because of Lhe parLlcular dangers LhaL her
daughLer wlll evenLually face as a glrl as she grows up. ParrleL reasons LhaL
lf she were Lo run away, her masLer would noL send her chlldren Lo Lhe
planLaLlon, slnce Lhey would be Loo much Lrouble wlLhouL her. She does
run away, and she ls rlghL. ur. lllnL glves up on Lhe ldea of sendlng her
chlldren Lo Lhe planLaLlon. Lludlng capLure by her masLer for seven years,
she llves ln her grandmoLher's house, ln a crawl space above Lhe
sLoreroom, nlne feeL long and seven feeL wlde . [wlLh] Lhe hlghesL parL .
[belng] Lhree feeL hlgh, and sloped down abrupLly Lo Lhe loose board floor."
!acobs's llLeracy ls cenLral Lo her belng able Lo elude capLure by her masLer.
She wrlLes leLLers Lo her masLer, ur. lllnL, and Lo her grandmoLher, and
arranges for Lhese leLLers Lo be malled from new ?ork. She ls Lhus able Lo
convlnce her masLer LhaL she has gone norLh. 1hls acL of decepLlon allows
her Lo llve under Lhe nose of her masLer for a long Llme, whlle shlfLlng Lhe
search for her Lo anoLher locaLlon. Per ploy works. Lven before she acLually
does escape Lo new ?ork, ur. lllnL Lravels Lo new ?ork ln search of her.
Whlle !acobs ls lmprlsoned ln Lhls crawl space, she occuples herself wlLh
readlng, sewlng, and pracLlclng her wrlLlng. Cnce she escapes Lo Lhe norLh,
she ls employed as a nursemald. She does Lhls work so LhaL she noL only
can Lake care of herself buL also can send her chlldren Lo school. Whlle
worklng as a nursemald, aL nlghL and ln secreL, she beglns Lo wrlLe abouL
her llfe as an enslaved woman. Lven Lhough her employer ls noL proslavery,
she sLlll feels LhaL she musL wrlLe aL nlghL ln secrecy ln order Lo avold
rldlcule. ln her leLLers she ls clear LhaL, whaLever her llmlLaLlons ln Lerms of
llLeracy, she wanLs Lo wrlLe her own sLory. 1hus l would asserL LhaL llLeracy
ls crlLlcal Lo ParrleL's escape, Lo her belng able Lo secure her freedom. She
ls occupled wlLh llLeracy even whlle she ls lmprlsoned, and ulLlmaLely her
llLeracy allows her Lo Lell her own sLory abouL her llfe as an enslaved
woman, hoplng LhaL Lhls narraLlve may moLlvaLe whlLe women ln Lhe norLh
Lo flghL for abollLlon of slavery.