Education: The Passing of the Torch

In the essay, To Be Black, Female, Literate, A Personal Journey in Education and Alienation by Leonie C.R. Smith, Smith describes how she understood the importance of literacy in her early childhood but focusing on black women literacy wasn't considered. Since everyone in her class was the same race, it never occurred to her nor was it brought up. Growing up in Antigua she understood that literacy was important. A life lesson that she learned was never giving up on education. She expressed how her father was very intelligent at a young age but as he had gotten older and finances became rough, he was had to eventually give up on his education to survive. But years later when it came to raising his children, he expressed to them that the best way to survive is to get an education, not the other way around. Growing up, Smith stayed in the public educating school system which was under the British English influence. She did not think about how important it was not to only be literate but to be black, a woman, and literate until she came to America. Although Smith lived in another country, there are still some people who live in America that really do not understand the importance of being a black woman in literacy. Now the question I raise to you is; Why do those who are aware of the ethnical and culture differences fail to understand the importance of their cultural and gender literacy?

In the text, Leonie Smith stated, "Education is the key that opens the imaginary door to success. Education, therefore, is supposed to uplift us from misery -- to improve our economic situation in life." This statement explains briefly that education without any doubt will improve the economic situation of an individual. So if black women in America learned how to become literate and earned a degree, they would not be as low as they are on America's economic scale. From personal experience, I have witnessed black women giving up on literacy. Growing up in the urban city of Newark, New Jersey I have heard women say that their only want to be a wife and a mother. They believe that men are supposed to get the education and work the real job. That mentality that they have limits who they can be. Truthfully they have given up on themselves in the inside. They need to learn and understand that they can't give up and count on someone else to provide for them. Even if they do inspire to be care takers, they still have to nature their children. They still have to be literate to teach their children what they will be deprived of in public school systems and society.