A Thank You Note to My Foremothers

In the essay entitled Voices of Our Foremothers: Celebrating the Legacy of African-American Women Educators, Sunny-Marie Birney explains the direct impact educators have on their students and the importance of establishing a nurturing and caring relationship between student and teacher. An orphan at a young age, Marie-Birney was adopted at the age of two by a Euro-American couple. Motherless Marie-Birney often at times felt as though she did not belong, “with no memories of my African American mother, I felt out of place, alone, and without value.” Unfortunately, these feeling of social awkwardness and displacement would prevail up until she went to college in Wooster, Ohio (at the College of Wooster). There Marie-Birney would begin her journey towards personal acquisition and understanding. At Wooster  Marie- Birney embraced the caring and nurturing characteristic nature of her female professors: Dr. Susan Frazier-Kouassi, Yvonne Williams, and Mary Young. Stating that these professors helped her connect her academic knowledge to a broader world and understand the dynamics of an ever changing world. But perhaps the most important lesson Marie- Birney learnt from these women was that they cared for her and that her academic advancement at a collegiate level did not overshadow their concern about her overall mind, body, and spirit. Present, past, and future. Marie- Birney would later go on to describe these African American professors as “other mothers”, who knew that raising a child was a community effort and act of service.  Or as Marie- Birney would go on to say, “my teachers filled a void I had searched to fill all my life. It was their presence in my life that inspired me to respond to a scared calling to become a teacher.”

Marie-Birney's essay also goes further to emphasize the importance of two main types of literacies: educational liberation and identification. Explaining the necessity of knowing that knowledge is the key to freedom, making it clear that no matter how much information you review or the grades you receive, none of the educational teachings make a difference unless you realize your place in the world. Then you will embrace your own identity and create your own personal connections to abstract concepts. Hence, although Birney was not provided with an African American setting to discover her history and roots, she was later equipped to create one from the influential role models though out her life. Thus, creating her own identity in the world in order to give her critique of the world.

In conclusion, I can truly relate to Marie-Birney and her emphasis on the concept that raising a child is a community act of service. Especially because I have personally experienced the effects that a nurturing and caring professor can have on ones academic success. Due to teachers such as Dr. Shaw and Dr. Bose during my matriculation at Spelman College and can’t emphasis enough the importance of a nurturing “family away from home.”  Consequently, with that being said in order to move forward as a community we must embrace our culture and race as a whole and move forward towards helping our people as a whole in order to succeed and prosper.   

Unearthing Hidden Literacy: Seven Lessons I Learned in a Cotton Field

This article in some ways is an eye opener, because many of us do not realize that some life experience shape us for the rest of our lives. In Lillie Gayle Smith, Unearthing Hidden Literacy, she recounts her days on her aunt's cotton fields when she was child in not so many details, but in a way that lets you, the reader, knows that those experiences taught her a lot. In Unearthing Hidden Literacy, Smith spoke about how up until taking a Graduate course in 2003 on Black Women Literacy, she hadn't realized how relevant her experience in the cotton fields of Alabama exactly were and never saw the need to share her experiences with anyone else. However, during her graduate course she learned to be empowered by her experiences. Experiences she discusses, while making special mention of the ways in which black women are demeaned unworthy and unequally in comparison to males; and black females need to fight back. In fact, in one instance, she recounts being in a certain in course where her male professor when taking answers from students after asking questions would accept the male students without any doubt. But when females answered the question the professor was skeptical of their answers and would ask their male counter parts for confirmation. After a while her peers stop answering the questions and some even dropped out of the course. As a result, initially Smith believed they were giving up because they didn't speak up but she later on realized that, that was just a way in which they were fighting back.

Additionally, although Smith does show many ways in which black females are treated negatively. She also explains how it had some positive effects. Giving examples where black females during their high school years became more confident than their white and Latina counter parts due to their mistreatment. “We have been mistreated for so long that we have come to fight against it. We have gained a sort of confidence from all the mistreatment.” Also going back to her days in the cotton fields, she recounts how being in the cotton fields made her more respectful and accepting of others. Explaining that it was during those scorching days in the sun that she bonded with her elders and the others that worked there. In addition, she learned many lessons from them, some life lessons that she used latter in life.

In conclusion, this article was an extreme eye opener for me.  Since I have never been one to take life experiences for granted, especially ones that have had such a large effect on me. In fact, the smallest of acts can have the most impact on us. Yet, although I understood her acceptance of her classmates not verbally speaking to their teacher about his treatment of them, I do not agree with their actions. If I were put in that position I would speak out and fight to get fair treatment. As long as I am learning and educating myself with the same information as my male counterpart, anything I say should be accepted in the way that his is accepted. Respect should be given to everyone that is deserving of it.

WE MARCH!!!!

 

Lessons from Down Under written by Bessie House-Soremekun gives a firsthand account of growing up in the South in the midst of civil right turmoil. House-Soremekun's reflects on the limitations that slaves were given throughout the course of slavery and the progression to different types of literacies in order to obtain an education. House-Soremekun also discusses how African Americans have heavily depended on various oral traditions of literacy, such as storytelling, throughout history to strengthen and develop the race as a whole. Explaining that lack of formal education for African Americans during slavery lead to historical happenings, customs and common knowledge being transmitted through oral renditions instead of written text, which furthermore helped to keep African American culture alive and unrestricted by white society. An example of such unconventional forms of literacies is depicted in her conversations between her and her grandmother and what she learnt outside her textbooks. “My grandmother and I discussed many topics, including religion, philosophy, the nature of human existence, politics, health issues, and economics” (pg.62). 

In addition, although House-Soremekun does focus on the various forms of African American literacies. Through this reading I was also introduced to a literacy that I never took into consideration up until this reading, and that being boycotting and protesting as fashions of displaying the understanding of the law and the rights one processes due to citizenship. An example of such innovative literacy being the Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955-56 in which African Americans understood their economical power and ability to influence society through protest. Saying no, reflects the immense intelligence of the Black community and its leader in knowing how to change injustice in a black and white world. Thus, making protesting and boycotting clear forms of literacy that African Americans used as mode of transportation for equality despite the social barriers existing in a White constructed world.

In conclusion, the while I agree with House-Soremekun’s agrument that oral traditions have been used to help African Americans to become literate, I think as readers and literate black women it is important  for us to not generalize this concept and think that oral tradition are simply the only way for us as a race to not stay defeated. But instead understand and remember the power in which we hold as one union and the driving force in which change can come within that union. Hence we must ask ourselves “what can I do for my community?” and “what social issues at hand to I believe and am willing to fight for?” because only then can we work as a community to free and deliver our race from the barriers of social and economical depression.

Pimps Whores and Welfarebrats

Society has always spoken negatively about African Americans. The article Pimps Whores and Welfarebrats gives a very different point of view. Society did not come up with these ideas on their own. The actions of African American leaders and its people had everything to do with negative thoughts and assumptions. This article points out so many issues that are ignored by the African American people. After the civil rights movement the lives of African Americans were suppose to get better. We were suppose to become equals with our white-counter parts. Our African American leaders played a big part in this transition. Instead of everyone of us making an effort to make a difference in our lives and our community. Some of us took the easy route and went for assistance from the Pimps (Government). African Americans (Whores) have become so dependent on assistance from the government. Through this assistance African Americans have been portrayed lazy and uncaring. In some ways it is true. Many have become so dependent and feel it is unnecessary to go out and find work or fend for themselves. Everything that the government gives us we take with asking questions about the affect it will have on the future generations to come.

The author of this article also pointed out another fact. Whenever African American leaders find themselves the blame it on "racism." Why does it always have to come down to that. Even though we may face racism at one point in our life as African Americans that does not mean it is always a factor in everything we do. Many African American leaders have exploited the community of Africans Americans and though they are in the wrong when they get caught for their wrong doings the blame on racism and how our white counter parts are trying to make them out to be the bad guys. When in all honest the are deemed the bad guys because the actions were really wrong. Also these leaders have supported many things that are immoral and not very good for the African American community. Like some leaders support abortion but it is wiping out an entire generation of African Americans. The abortion rate for African Americans have gone up because its approved in so many places and in many cases it is paid for by the government. Many African American leaders represent the government. Being and African American is not easy and I can say we do not make it easy on ourselves.

This article spoke to me in so many ways. In all honest the author spoke about so many things that I think about everyday. I may be Ghanaian but in American I am an African American and it pains me to see the way society views me because of the acts of other African Americans. Just because one is black that does not mean we can not be successful as a whole. The smallest acts can have the biggest impacts. There is no reason for so many African Americans to be so dependent on the government. We also need to stop blaming everything we do on racism. We should that the consequences for our actions and make a change in our lives. One act can change societies views on our life and our dependence on the government.

Literacy and Dysfunction

 Throughout the years women have worked hard to put behind them the steroetypical steroetypes that come with being a women and roles such as child bearing and male sex toys. In fact, almost every culture as well as race has unfortunately depicted females in this same light, emotional, weak, and uneducated. Mandi Chikombero's Dysfuctional Literacies of Exclusion: An Exploration of the Burdens of Literacy in Tsitsi Dangarembga’s Nervous Condition, however analyzes a book called "Nervous Conditions" by Tsitsi Dangarembga and gives example of the two different types of literacies in which people may be categorized in. The first being traditional literacy and the second being colonial literacy. Within this novel Mandi Chikombero tries to convey the message that "different literacies have various implications for understanding Black women's struggle for acceptance and inclusion in male-dominated societies". In addition, by analysizing” Nervous Conditions” Chikombero is able to exemplify the many issues that African-American woman faced during this post slavery time period and expose the obscacles presented to them due to their race and the gender inqualities they faced within their own homes.

An example of these central issues is presented when Chikombero refers to Tambu, the main character of Nervous Conditions, and her belief that a colonial education will help her escape from the deprivation and depression that lies within the colonial accepted treatment of women within her community.  Unfortunately she is quickly disappointed when she sees women of higher educational levels such as her aunt, who went to missionary school in England, return back home and achievements be overshadowed by her husband.  Furthermore, Nervous Conditions, like similar African stories, education is seen as alienating, uprooting circumstance that is geared only to the displacement of the colonized from familiar settings.

          After reading this novel I was truly aspired to work in every possible  way to continue my own acquisition towards literarcy, and in the process hopefully continue where my ancestors left off. I know now that without them and their sacrifice, I probably could not claim a spot at Spelman College or anywhere else. Yet fortunately enough it is through their courage and strength that they were able to make it through those tough times and thankfully pave the way for my future. Thus, with these in mind I must make sure not to let stereotypical stereotypes dictate my future or aspirations of future goals but continue on the road to success.

Black and on Welfare

African Americans no matter their educational level are constantly the brunt of cruel stereotypes, social misconception and unfortunately often at times deemed unworthy. In Sandra Golden's article "Black and Welfare: What You Don't Know About Single-Parent Women she explains the disrespect and humiliation that African American women on welfare face every day.” "Once one goes to the government for assistance you are looked upon as unmotivated, unskilled, uneducated or undereducated, and responsible for bring fatherless children into the world," I quote Golden. Golden conducted a research and she found that many of the African American women that were on welfare were constantly humiliated and referred to as "case numbers" instead of by their names. These women could not defend themselves because if they did, they would lose the governments support. If a woman is a single mother, they are looked upon with disdain. In part, it seems like it is the mission of the American Welfare system to evolve a single parent household to a two parent household by helping out these women. In the end though all they do is degrade them.

To reform these women and make them better members of society is the American Welfare’s goal. However, what they do not realize is some of these women are well educated and are just going through some hard times. They are put in classes that teach them about different jobs, but even if these women are qualified in certain fields it is not accounted for. To them (welfare system) it does not matter what qualifications you have, because these training programs are designed so that you are recommended to an employer or agency even if you are not interested. Some of these jobs consist of housekeeping, waitressing, nursing aide etc. These women all have different passions but they are not given the opportunity to show them within these forced professions.

Everyone hits a hard patch once in their life, and end up needing assistance from someone else. So I do not understand why they discriminate against those asking for assistances. Especially since the welfare system was created for that purpose alone. I feel that if these caseworkers are not dedicated to helping these women in need then they do not need to work in that particular profession. These women need attention and care not humiliation and degradation. It is wrong and inhuman.  Life is a struggle and no one can make it without the help of another sadly I can see that many people do not see it that way.

The Color Purple.

Alice Walker's The Color Purple tells the inspiring story of an oppressed, abused, isolated women who learns to fight back, speak for herself, defend other women, “ git man off her eye (204),” and make her  way  in a racist, patriarchal world. The beginning of this reading entitled Women and Literacy in Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, starts off by explaining how women of the Diaspora have been using the oral culture for generations. "Before Black women were allowed to publish, they kept their stories alive through the act of storytelling" (137), black women writers recorded their histories through their stories. Zora Neale Hurston, Toni Morrison, Gloria Naylor, and Alice Walker are writers that the reading goes on to explain and mirror the realities of being both Black and female.

The reading also goes on to elucidate the five basic types of feminism: liberal feminism, radical feminism, pro-structural feminism, social feminism, and black feminism. Liberal feminists focus on the rights of individual women and work to transform traditional beliefs about femininity and masculinity and emphasize women's rights to create their own identity. Radical feminists argue that the roots of women's oppression lie in the biological differences between men and women. Pro-structural feminists examine the ways language patterns produce notions of gender. Social feminists believe that race, social class, and gender oppression are interrelated consequences of a patriarchal, capitalist system. And finally black feminism, or womanism, which defines African-American women's struggles as issues of race, social class, and gender and work to give voice to the experiences of Black women (138).

In The Color Purple, Celie, the protagonist of The Color Purple, belongs in the category of the silent woman. Silence is a position in which women experience themselves as voiceless and mindless (138). It represents a denial of self and a strong dependence on external authority. Women of silent knowledge do not view themselves as learners. Like Celie who progresses through the stage of being silent, begins to rely on what people say and think. She looks for others to validate her self-worth and by doing so she begins to quiet her own voice and instead lives by what people say. However, towards the final stages of this story as Celie begins to understand that in order to recreate herself she had to ultimately learn how to survive alone. “If she come, I be happy, If she don’t, I be content. And then I figure this is the lesson I was supposed to learn” (p.284). Furthermore, through Celie, Alice Walker asserts that knowing one’s place within the larger schema enables women to maximize their power, uncover their hidden talents, and discover the God inside.

Hence, The Color Purple was an extremely influential story since it shows me and other readers the first hand effects of an abusive relationship and how exceptionally important it is to have your own voice of reasoning and be able to make choices of your own. After reading this essay I had one important question. The first question is, what category would I fall under? And after much thought I would have to say black feminism, since I think it is important for every black women to have a voice and a voice that can be heard. Whether that voice be made public in politics or even the local community that voice matters and should be heard.