Finding Ways

It is amazing to see how so many people fought so hard just to get the right to speak out against injustice. Reading "Going Against the Grain" opened my eyes the struggles of people of African descent in America. When you look at the novel and you read about how the law itself suppressed blacks from learning to read and write. It was the kind of world they lived in at the time. At the same time though you had white man and women who went out of their way to teach black men and women to read and write. Even though in their eyes it was a way for them to become civilized as they claimed, it was still a great cause. Women in my eyes accomplished the most. In the eyes of society black women were nothing. They weren't even recognized as being human beings. So when I read about how the likes of Lucy Terry and Maria W. Stewart went against societies misconceptions and through literacy spoke out against injustice it made me rejoice. Who would think through literacy so much can be accomplished?

What also really fascinated me was the unique ways people taught slaves when it became illegal to teach blacks to read or write. Using a sewing class as a cover up for educating women and even staying up until 2 a.m to teach young children because you want to make a difference is amazing. These were the things that people particularly women did to improve the literacy of African American. Even if not given the opportunity to be taught, they listened to the whites reading and writing and learn from them. Without the white even realizing what was going on.

Reading "Going Against the Grain" made me realize the we have it easy in our society as of now. We have so many opportunities given to us as black women and if we take a stand and fight for it we can achieve. In the times of Lucy Terry and Maris W. Stewart they faced so much opposition but they still managed to get their stories told. So I wonder what is stopping women of my generation from doing the same. As of now the motto is no one can stop you from succeeding but you. The struggles of the heroines before us was just to see the generations after to succeed.