Going Against the Grain Part 1: Empowerment of African American Women and Literacy

                                                     

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                   Maria Stewart starts out by listing the two most important things that African American women must understand and hold in the United States: the power of language and learning, and how to use your knowledge to survive in the United States.

·                African American women’s work has been concealed in the past centuries. As society moved through the twentieth century, African American women were more able to let their voices be heard so that they can give others insight to the productivities of African American women such as the modern civil rights and women’s movement, and the welfare rights, labor, and the anti-Vietnam War movements.

·                    Stewart is introducing the topic of the hardship African American women went through to establish and give themselves a name in American. Stewart states that “African American women have been encumbered by racist, sexist, and class-bound ideologies…they were required to prove themselves as human beings, rather than as animals, in order to establish a place for themselves under the law as rightful owners to the entitlement of citizenship”.

·                        The history of African American women is so inspiring. As we began to obtain knowledge, we took literacy and let it flow through our actions.  As women, we took literacy and recognized the power it holds. Literacy made us realize the ability we have as women to change “hearts, minds. And conditions”.

·                       The passage helped me to see the struggle of African American women through our history. We upheld such a powerful role in society through the centuries. We came such a long way. Although we were enslaved Black women, we took that experience to create an identity for ourselves. We are the basic foundation in society. African American women were the interpreters and reinterpreters of society. They had to take the knowledge of what was occurring in their environment, interpret it to be bad or good, and carry that information to others. Their strength comes from their enslavement as African American women. Their struggle to empower and prove themselves as human rather than just non-gender voiceless creature s helped them to develop their strength and identity as a bigger role in society.

·                           The main point of the passage was to portray the powerful efforts of African American women through history and how they used literacy to advance themselves in society. I admire the strength of the women that paved a way of culture, strength, voice, and advocacy for the other African American women. Women such as Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, and Ida B. Wells are concrete examples of the legacy that African American women left through history. Through the struggles of being degraded, non-gender creatures, and enslavement, African American women shined in society as amazing individuals who fought for their rights and entitlements in America. We have proved ourselves to be just as good as men and women of other races. African American women have that perseverance to fight for what they want and what they believe in. Looking back at my history and ancestors, as an upcoming African American women I hope to maintain that perseverance and use my literacy to make a difference and change the world for the betterment of mankind.