African Americans Were Not Alone

Kaitlyn Jackson

In this final portion of the article "Going Against the Grain", the author talks about the educational institutions African Americans made for themselves, and some with the help of Literacy Activists.  Particularly, the instutions founded in the late 1800s, when slavery was coming to a close.  Three of these activists were Sophia B. Hackard, Harriett E. Giles and Father Frank Quarles.  Sophia B. Packard and Harriett E. Giles were two white women from Massachusetts who decided that it was time that African American women be educated.  They founded Spelman College in Atlanta, GA on April 11, 1881.  It was at this point in the reading that I truly gained an understanding and appreciation for the founding of my school, Spelman College, Morehouse College and other historically black colleges and universities.  African American literacy has become something that we take for granted.  But, in reading "Going Against the Grain", I have realized that it was not something that was just handed to us.  It is because of our determination and the work of people like Sophia B. Packard and Harriett E. Giles that African Americans, especially women, have the ability to read and write.  Yes, African Americans were gaining literacy on their own through their masters and secret African American schools, but without the help of the Literacy Abolitionists, African Americans would not have the social and functional literacy that helps them survive in today's complex society.  During the times of slavery, African Americans had their own form of literacy, but I think that with that literacy alone, African American society would not have been able break into the rest of society.  Literacy Activists taught the African Americans of that time to read and write, much like parents and peers teach children, so that they can survive in the community.  This example defines social literacy.  Without social literacy, we would not be able to be members of this complex society that we, African Americans, survive so well in today.  So, I thank the African Americans who began the literacy revolution and the Literacy Activists who helped them reach their goals because without them, Spelman College would not exist and I would not be who I am today.