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.