For as long as I can remember I was told, “Learning to read or write wasn’t made for girls like you back in the 1860’s.” After Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves in 1865, they were granted the same amount of education, law protection, individuality, and respect as White people. Since Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves in 1865 and slavery began in 1619, it is understood that slaves and their generations went about 246 years without a proper education.
Black people being able to read and write is what transformed The United States into what we see today. We have many Black poets, Black authors, Black business owners, Black producers, and even Black animators. Black History is a way to celebrate how far Black people have come in the fight against oppression.
Writing always evolves like everything else in life. It adapts itself to new environments and shapes the world around us in a weird way. Literature as a whole is a great documentation of the past and what people went through when tragic events would happen. There are primary sources such as diaries and letters that signify the need for reading and writing today.
I’ve never seen someone acknowledge writing from a racial standpoint. Now, granted, there isn’t a need to do so often because race is very controversial and can become heated quickly. However, I do understand that writing at one point wasn’t designed for People of Color, more specifically Black people and that is important in understanding the growth in society today.
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