Striving Forward: Black Women and Literacy

     Black Women are said to represent strength, endurance, risk and poverty yet she is the most ignored within the structure of society according to Darling from her excerpt Literacy and the Black Woman. Why is this so? How could it be possible for Black Women to have these high attributes and qualifications, but at the outlook of her entire well being, she is overlooked by society? Why are Black Women a member of the underclass? These questions along with others were fumbling around in my head as I read the first page of Literacy and the Black Woman. And just like a fairytale ending all of my questions were answered as I kept reading. The answers to the posed questions are as follows… Black Women must attain the literate skills that are offered. Black Women must endure her long journey as a lessoned learned. Black Women must not stop at her working progress, once she has hit rock bottom. And if she continues to strive for herself, then more changes will be made, and these questions will no longer define black women.

The shocking statistics in the excerpt widens the arena of Black Women and Literacy. “…25 % of the world’s population is illiterate….Black women comprise 44%....” (Darling, 19) The statistics shows that women of color are in need of help, but I desperately believe that only we can help ourselves. There is nothing that a black woman has not been through-- her journey is and was long, filled with positive energy as well as negative energy. But to the oppressors astonishment Black Women press on through all of their struggles. Some women are going to accept the roles that the media publicize such as: video vixen, crack head, illiterate and the list continues; however it is up to us (black women) to strive forward, for a better outlook of our own race and classification. As a result to these ingredients, Black Women look good and feel good and that is where and how we like it.