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In Fisher’s “Toward a Theory of Black Literate Lives,” African Americans’ efforts in attaining literacy are greatly described as a “communal act” as free and enslaved African Americans who learned to read and write shared their knowledge with their communities, teaching others to do the same (p. 15-16). This caused me to think about how I became literate and how that process was also a communal effort. When I was a kid, my mom taught me to read by first reading stories to me, then transitioned into having me read those stories to her. Although my process was on a more personal level, it shares a similar sentiment to the efforts made by African Americans in the 19th century. Another aspect that stood out to me is the selfless nature of this “communal act.” Because they knew how much the ability to read and write could change their lives, African Americans did anything they could to ensure others had those skills. As a student and artist, I have taught myself how to do a lot of things, but I have also been taught how to do a lot of things and have been given tips on how to improve upon what I know. For that reason, sharing knowledge with others has always been important and is something that I try to do whenever possible.

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While reading about the efforts of African Americans to become literate in this time period, I also thought about my own privilege regarding literacy. During the 19th century, literacy was considered a part of being human, which necessitated the need to learn to read and write as African Americans saw it as a means of bettering their lives (p. 15). As a result, they created "secret schools" and "self-help schools" to educate and empower one another (p. 17-18). Today, while reading and writing are still considered vital skills, they are no longer required to be seen as human. As well, literacy is much more accessible than it once was.

 

The section on Sojourner Truth, "'I Can Read De People': Orality and Literacy," also stood out to me as it critiqued how much importance was placed on being able to read and write over any other skill. Truth was an excellent figure to highlight because, despite being illiterate, she was still hugely influential, using her voice to speak out against slavery rather than written word (p. 19-21). I believe the critiques in this section are relevant today because, although it has become more significant, oral capability is still valued less than literacy in academic settings despite the impact it can have.

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For my Linguistic Mode composition, I want to highlight how my community has impacted me because I believe that much of who I am today can be attributed to the experiences I have had within various communities. In a previous in-class activity, I wrote down words that I would use to describe myself and words that I think other people would use to describe me, and I think that doing something similar for my composition could be quite interesting. Using that activity as a base, I will represent my community’s impact by constructing my name using characteristics that I believe I share with my community.