Voices of our Foremothers

This story is a personal dedication from the author Sunny-Marie Birney that tells her story of how Black women, particularly in education, have led millions of people towards a better future. In this excerpt, Birney explains how she grew up without her birth mother and was instead raised by two Euro-Americans. Being an African American woman she always felt a void because of her situation. Birney goes on to tell her audience that although she did not have the strong black mother she was given this figure in the form of teachers and professors. She gives various examples of how women of the diaspora take their job seriously and have a passion for giving students the love and care that they need to succeed. She mentions one woman, Mary McLeod Bethune, who is an outstanding figure in African American education and has a track record of things such as creating a school for African American girls as well as eventually going on to open up a prestigious historically black college, Bethune Cookman.

Women like these have made a way for a successful future in the black community. She also goes on to say that she is homeschooling her daughter so that her daughter can not only learn numbers and letters, but will be immersed in the culture as well through her studies. She believes that by doing this she will be giving her the same education that she received from her black teachers. Birney’s story and interaction sounds a lot like my own experiences. As a student from Spelman College, I too have encountered some amazing professors that care about your well being more that anything else. These teachers are a reason for mine as well as my fellow sisters success in various areas. I believe that these educators are a huge part of how we have become as far as we are today.

Formal and Informal Lessons

The African American community used oral and written forms of communication to spread the word on how they would interact with the white population during the Civil Rights Movement. The power from the black community came from their unity and the church was a main location for them to gather together for strength. In Lessons From Down Under, it points out how religious leaders and the church played a prominent role in helping African Americans engage with the white community. In this article in goes over formal and informal literacy, which is something that has been over in another article earlier this semester. Formal literature being the education obtained in a school and informal/traditional is from storytelling. Because of the "separate but equal" policy, black students were given a lower quality of education than white students. After the overturn of the policy it is a long process, that continues today, to develop black majority schools for a better education. Having both traditional and formal literacy is important to have rooted in each individual. Through traditional literacy, a student can learn history through experiences and this is a way to learn from others mistakes and grow from the past. Storytelling from relatives play in a role in connecting to an individual's diaspora and their roots by knowing where they came from and their family history. Many lessons in the class room are enriched with facts and information that cannot be received at home. The combination of both types of education makes a person's education more well-rounded. A lesson that history has shown repetively is that is take s apolitical struggle to break from the injustices and inequalities of the government. The knowledge construction of the student affects the way they interact and handle the battles in the fight for their rights.

Unearthing Hidden Literacy:Seven lessons I learned in a cotton field

When thinking about the historical times of slavery, I think about the unpleasant events that happen. Working in a cotton field and being beaten are just a few events that happen during that time, but who would have thought that this haunted memory would be an appreciated lesson? In the reading “Unearthing Hidden Literacy: Seven lessons I learned in a cotton field” by Lillie Gayle Smith, she never thought she would be proud to do the work that her ancestors use to do. When she was growing up, her mom sent her brother and her to work with their cousins in her aunt’s cotton field. Being upset that she had to do this job every summer, Smith did not appreciate the experience. It wasn’t until she took a “Black Women’s Literacy” class, that she was grateful for the opportunity.

Studying what slavery did to black women, the teacher made Smith realize that she should embrace the opportunity of working in a cotton field. A few things that Smith learned from working in a cotton field is that black women were exploited as slaves, they developed greater independence and self-reliance than other races. She also learned that black girls retain a high degree of self-esteem in high school unlike their white and Hispanic peers because they lose their self-esteem throughout the school years. And another thing she learned was how to value a dollar. Being paid for her work made her appreciate what the job had to offer.
I can kind of indentify with Smith on how slavery benefit me today. Growing up, I didn’t appreciate slavery and still don’t to this day, however, the knowledge of the past has made me stronger as a person. Although I did not work in the cotton fields growing up, I did get made fun of for being black. And although it was hurtful, just like Smith learned, black women have an heir about them that makes them independent. The torment and harassment we go through does not shut us down, but makes us stronger, and I definitely see that in me when looking back on my life. When I was in high school, other races would immediately lose confidence, drop their heads in shame, or try to change their selves just so that other people would like them, but as for me I stayed the same. I didn’t let anyone’s negative comments get to me, even when they hurt. Reading what Smith learned while working in a cotton field, taught me to keep my head up and appreciate the pain my ancestors went through.