Dysfunctional Literacies of Exclusion

Literacy and the World

Mandi Chikombero's novel is trying to convey the message that "different literacies have various implications for understanding Black women's struggle for acceptance and inclusion in male-dominated societies". She goes into defining literacy and discusses the types of literacy that are described in the chapter, traditional and colonial. Both of these types of literacy are the knowledge and practice of ideas, values, and attitudes of a specific society. Gender stratification is noted as contributing to race as an issue that further complicates the characters situation. Tambu believes that the colonial education will set her free. This is an example of how the literacy barrier in colonial times would be the cause of her trying to excel and strive for acceptance in society. In addition to the problems of the colonial era, social problems still exist in Zimbabwe today, such as some social inequalities that can be directly attributed to colonialism. Zimbabwe's colonial past has been the focus of many novels.

Colonial/modern/academic literacy is another main focus of interest in the novel.  The motivation through all types of literacy are similar all across the board. An example of this is the colonial mission to achieve Christianity, western civilization and commerce. As these components were constructed in the society of Zimbabwe Zambu was affected immensely. "Despite her educational success, Maiguru is unable to fully enjoy the benefits of her education she never gets to spend her hard earned salary. Tambu notes that [her] aunt never received her salary"(pg.101). This goes to show that the "colonization" of Zimbabwe caused much controversy especially towards it's citizens. Overall, this highly upset me because if this occurred in our society this would be declared unconstitutional and this could be taken to court. In Zimbabwe that clearly wasn't the case. I hope that in today's society this is not accepted and that legal action could be taken against those unconstitutional acts. The literacy that I can most relate to is the colonial type, in that I learned from those before me and because of their strong efforts to become literate the colonial way was the one which I can most relate to. I thank my ancestors for their triumphs and determination for uprising above what was "allowed" and broke the barrier of African Americans being literate.
 

Black and on Welfare: What You Don't Know About Single-Parent Women

In this novel “Black and on Welfare: What You Don’t Know About Single-Parent Women”, Sandra Golden starts her article off by first giving her own personal experience in the topic. She mentions the shocking experience that she encountered while seeking help from the County Department of Human Services. After her visit to the welfare office, she felt “dehumanized and humiliated.” due to the treatment of the caseworker, who automatically placed a stereotype on her as a black woman. “A black single-parent female utilizes special literacy skills to negotiate within a social context that marginalizes and disenfranchises groups based on gender, race, education and class. Many black females carry the assumption of being uneducated, unskilled, and unmotivated just because they receive public assistance. They make it seem as if they are lazy and do not have the desire to work on their own.

 Sandra Golden decided to gather a group of women in order to get their thoughts on the welfare system. It was clear to see that each woman had a negative comment to share. One participant stated “...SSC makes you feel stupid.” This is why literacy is so essential. Not everyone is able to obtain the common known literacy, but let’s not forget that other literacies exist. These literacies are not recognized by the welfare system. Most of the women that Sandra Golden talked with had other literacies that were ignored, such as literacies from home and community.

 

The welfare reform law of 1996 has some positive objectives; however, to meet those objectives and adequately serve clients, the welfare system must acknowledge and recognize the literacies of women who receive welfare benefits. Although caseworkers are overworked and have high case loads, they must be required to recognize and respect the people they serve. Furthermore, as job readiness and job placement programs are created to provide services for welfare-to-work clients, they need to implement a process that will enable them to learn about their clients’ needs, experiences, and skills and to implement programs that will meet individual client needs.

Literacy or Self Identity?

Black women have often struggled to be recognized and accepted into society. We have not always been allowed to have a voice so we kept our stories and struggles bundled inside. Before literacy was accepted for black women, storytelling was our reading and writing. We kept our history orally and many notable black writers such as Zora Neale Hurston, Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, and Gloria Naylor used their power of literacy and created stories and books of a black woman’s struggle. In each of the books written by the authors, stories of struggle, abuse, acceptance, respect, and finding one’s identity is the popular topic. When focusing on the harsh reality of being black and literate, five types of feminism are used to describe the black woman’s struggle. Liberal, Radical, Poststructural, Social, and Black feminism are the different types of feminism. Liberal feminism focuses on the transformation of a woman finding her own identity and beliefs. Radical feminism is the idea that women’s oppressions stems from a male dominated world and the process of reclaiming and separating yourself from male control. Social feminism is the idea that racial and social class are the reasons for a capitalist system and Black feminism addresses African American women’s struggles as it relates to social, gender, and racial class. Black feminist often strive to give a voice and freedom to black women.

In the book, The Color Purple by Alice Walker we examine Celie's growth and inner thinking. Alice Walker exemplifies how both family and school can obstruct the growth of a woman. Celie recognizes the importance of being literate saying, “us know we got to be smart to git away (Walters 139).” Due to unfortunate circumstances Celie does not continue her education, forcing herself to rely on other things to find her identity. Celie uses silence to “stay alive”. See, silence symbolizes conformity, submissiveness, and denial. When you do not have literacy to back up the confidence in your voice, you fall victim to other people’s knowledge and you become silent, because you are unsure of your own voice. Often when someone does not contain literacy they believe in other’s truth, that’s why it is so important to have some form of self identity, or confidence when literacy is not existent. Celie eventually finds the confidence within herself through what other people tell her, but later does not need the acceptance of what others think to feel good about herself. This shows what the power of language can do. It can transform a voiceless, non-confident woman into a self aware, strong female. The Color Purple shows that formal literacy does make a person more knowledgeable, but doesn’t satisfy all the needs of a person. It questions whether self- awareness and knowing one’s place in the world is the true definition of literacy.

Happy Valentines Day

Valentines Day is a day where love and passion for another person is supposed to be shared. The history of Valentines Day however is not as "sweet" as you may think. The Romans celebrated the feast of Lupercalia. You see the story of cupid and his love arrow wasn't always celebrated like it is today.

Back in 3rd century A.D. Romans were known for the days of February 13th - February 15th as being the most brutal and "bloody" times. Women would line up for men to hit them because they believe that this would make them fertile, also this celebration would include a matchmaking lottery. Emperor Claudis II executed to men named Valentine over the course of 3rd Century A.D. their deaths were condemned in the Catholic Church and they were honored with a day called St. Valentine's Day.

Nowadays everyone believes in cupid and his love arrow and all the mushy and gushy chocolates and flowers, but I bet you didn't know this loving and joyous holiday started out as, well, not so very glamorous.

Reel Women: Black Women and LIteracy in Feature Films

While reading this chapter of Black women and literacy in Feature Films, it was hard for me to truly relate to what she was saying because while watching films I never actually thought of the literacy level of black women that the film director was trying to portray. Although I have seen the majority of the films referred to by Dowdy, I never thought of how negatively black female literacy was being portrayed. Dowdy explores the roles and views of black women in nine feature films. All of these films are either starring Lynn Whitfield, Angela Bassett, Halle Berry, Alfre Woodard or Whoopi Goldberg. All of the central black characters in the films are all facing a conflict and they don’t show the advancement of black women.  The women long after the film is over are viewed as uneducated and worthless to society. Three out of the nine films deal with addictions and although it juices the plot up the storylines portray black women in negative stereotypes. In the movies “Music from the Heart”, “Sarafina”, and “Wit”, the black women have a social status in terms of education. However, their opinions are always trumped by a higher power and they end up stuck in their harsh realities.

 It’s very true that a majority of films starring black women must show the black women being put down by some sort of higher power. In an industry where there aren’t many black women represented I think that there need to be more positive roles for black women. This excerpt has taught me a lot because now when I look at films I will not just watch it but I will look at the way the director is trying to portray certain types of people and cultures through the characters. This should encourage other readers to do the same because if they are not aware of certain images purposefully being displayed then stereotypes of genders, or ethnicity, will be formed.

Going Against the Grain 3

This section talks about how after the Civil War different movements formed in order to help African Americans become literate. According to Royster, “the symbolic and practical significance of literacy, after emancipation, going to school became a political act as well as a means of personal edification. Black people joined together to establish education systems and hire teachers for old and young alike, and their collective efforts represented both defiance to white authority and an expression of community self-interest” (pg123).  African Americans understood the implications of literacy and learning in political, economic, and social progress. They could see clearly from the extent to which they were denied access to it. That education could make a difference for individuals and for whole communities.

This is why African Americans were able to start Sabbath school, missionary school, and public school movements. People in Atlanta saw this as an opportunity for advancement and took it. They began to form public schools and private colleges like Spelman College. This was a great advancement for African Americans because education gave them a better opportunity to better jobs which meant better pay. On the first point, whatever African American women wanted to do with literacy would at the very essence be perceived by hegemonic structures as going against the grain. Some of them fought for their education and for their generations. They wanted to make a huge difference in the world, and began accomplishing great things at an early age, such as Charlotte Forten.

I really enjoyed this reading and it really gave me the true history of the development of school’s for Africans Americans. It has made me really appreciate the opportunities I have today and I thank all of the people who didn’t give up and continue to fight for not only are freedom but also education for us.

Going Against the Grain Part I

The achievement of African American women is not always recognized. In the article, Going Against the Grain, it discusses how black women have always had to fight just to get something as simple as recognition, citizenship, and a voice. Throughout time black women have demonstrated their intellectual powers through storytelling, their actions, and strength. They obtained a will to be literate, not only to better themselves, but others around them. In the article it talks about how black women were used as breeders during slavery and how they used to work side by side with a man. They were described as being "genderless" only treated as ladies when they were sexually abused or needed to reproduce. Another aspect of black women is our ability to create worlds and images through our stories. We are dreamers and we are able to interpret and construct words as a form of communication to others.

"Each movement toward literacy was a signal that these women were going very much against the grain of prevailing cultural beliefs, practices, and expectation (Going Against the Grain 114)." Black women knew that in order to be prosperous in the world, education and literacy was a requirement. The education of black women would lead to activism and leaders such as Harriet Tubman, Ida B. Wells, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, and Charlotte Forte Grimke to come into existence. These women fought for their rights and their intellect helped them on the way to freedom and equality. Through years of oppression African American women still find a way to rise through and quench their thirst for power, entitlement, and recognition.  I find it difficult to even decipher that black women were seen as nothing more than reproduction machines to most people. To see our progress now from hundreds of years of slavery is remarkable! We are educated, strong, independent women who would not allow others to dictate our future. Going Against the Grain really summarized how black women rose above all the barriers presented to them and became greater than anybody could ever imagine .Not allowing anyone to define them, black women will continue their journey to make opportunities for education and make literacy a power.

Going Against the Grain Part. 2

Going Against the Grain By: Maria W. Stewart
Part 2 (Pages 11-22) 
Literacy of the slaves was forbidden. The slaveholders used this tatic to make the enslaved
"useless" and only be able to work. The power of knowledge is so powerful and the slaveholders knew that if the enslaved people figured out how to be literate they could possibly over power them and possibly take over and turn around the whole slavery epidemic. In the passage becoming literate, it explains how once slaves were aware of their situation it fueled them to go against the White man’s authority. Slaveholders made sure that the enslaved wouldn't be able to succeed in the literacy aspect, they passed laws prohibiting slaves from becoming literate.

 After absorbing all of this horrible information I now realize that if African Americans wanted to rebell against the whole slavery epidemic they could've as a whole. With hundreds of slaves just on one plantation rebellion within literacy and power could've been beneficial to us as a people, or would it have?

 I think it was really unfair and mind boggling that people would actually prohibit another person from getting a simple ability like reading and writing skills. The history of our ancestors that had to endure these horrible acts just anger and compel me to strive for excellence at all costs. In todays society it seems as though African Americans as a whole have all the odds against them, negativity in the media, the most amount of people incarcerated and killed, along with the most prone and affected by most diseases. WE are still here! 

For goodness sake our president is finally something other than white. I believe that the importance of learning for future generations and instilling the importance of education and literacy must be taught at an early age. Without the knowledge of my ancestors and the constant encouragement of family and friends I probably wouldn't of made it this far. I hope for all the people that read this excerpt in Going Against the Grain will appreciate the fact of being literate and will encourage young people to work hard and "keep the ball rolling". We are Americans, "The home of the brave" we must keep the "bravery up" and succeed as a people because WE are here to stay and WE as a people "ain't going NO WHERE"!