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EDUCATION
Why We Need to Protect Black Students' Access to Education
America has a long history of unequal educational opportunity
Education is the passport for the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today," Malcolm X said. These words could apply to any group of people. However, the message is of special significance to the black community. America has a history of depriving Black people of equal educational opportunities. Anti-literacy laws passed on the state level offer a prime example. In 1829, Georgia passed a law prohibiting Black people from reading and writing. In the following year, Louisiana and North Carolina joined them. In 1832, Alabama and Virginia passed their anti-literacy legislation. Georgia did, too, through an employment law in 1833. Missouri prohibited any assembly to teach enslaved people how to read in 1847. Punishments for breaking these laws ranged from fines, imprisonment, and public flogging.
An 1858 Telegraph-Courier article reported that Virginia authorities arrested "ninety negroes." A group of White locals caught them "learning to read" together at church. While their behavior harmed no one, they broke the state law. Richmond paper editors attempted to defend the mass arrest. They claimed Black people should only receive "oral" lessons. And insisted…
