The Issue and History of Illiteracy Among African Americans
The Issue And History Of Illiteracy Among African Americans
Becca White
Writing 123
Instructor Sydney Darby
27 May 2008
Illiteracy is a growing issue in America. The U.S. Department of Education funded the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) in 1992 that estimates over 90 million Americans fall well below an eight grade literacy level (Rome, 2004, pp. 84).
Nowhere is this tragedy more prevalent than among the impoverished African
Americans. Illiteracy has always been higher among African Americans now the gap is growing even wider due to a verity of reasons. According to the National Assessment of
Adult Literacy Prison Survey (2003), the number one deterrent to becoming a criminal is having the ability to read past the eighth grade, and the number one preventive for an inmate becoming a repeat offender is to educate in literacy past the eighth grade level.
“Today, the definition of literacy is based on what is called functional literacy. That is, someone is literate if they are able to function properly within society,” (Roman, 2004, pp. 81). This definition can cover a variety of skills not only reading and writing but also the skills required to process general information from one’s surroundings (Roman, 2004, pp. 81).
To truly begin to understand the issues surrounding illiteracy among African
Americans you have to go back to the beginning. America saw 7.7 million slaves imported from Africa between 1492-1820 more than half the imports of slaves took place from 1700-1800 (Foner, 2006, pp. 112). By the 1830’s laws were in place to make the education of slaves illegal, thus only 10% of slaves were literate (Foner, 2006, pp. 348).
At the time slavery ended only about 10% of the African American population could read and do sums - A vitally important ability in a Jim Crow society. Jim Crowism came to embody the laws, customs, and policies of segregation (Foner, 2006, pp. 310), but more importantly the post civil war ‘separate but not
Becca White
Writing 123
Instructor Sydney Darby
27 May 2008
Illiteracy is a growing issue in America. The U.S. Department of Education funded the National Adult Literacy Survey (NALS) in 1992 that estimates over 90 million Americans fall well below an eight grade literacy level (Rome, 2004, pp. 84).
Nowhere is this tragedy more prevalent than among the impoverished African
Americans. Illiteracy has always been higher among African Americans now the gap is growing even wider due to a verity of reasons. According to the National Assessment of
Adult Literacy Prison Survey (2003), the number one deterrent to becoming a criminal is having the ability to read past the eighth grade, and the number one preventive for an inmate becoming a repeat offender is to educate in literacy past the eighth grade level.
“Today, the definition of literacy is based on what is called functional literacy. That is, someone is literate if they are able to function properly within society,” (Roman, 2004, pp. 81). This definition can cover a variety of skills not only reading and writing but also the skills required to process general information from one’s surroundings (Roman, 2004, pp. 81).
To truly begin to understand the issues surrounding illiteracy among African
Americans you have to go back to the beginning. America saw 7.7 million slaves imported from Africa between 1492-1820 more than half the imports of slaves took place from 1700-1800 (Foner, 2006, pp. 112). By the 1830’s laws were in place to make the education of slaves illegal, thus only 10% of slaves were literate (Foner, 2006, pp. 348).
At the time slavery ended only about 10% of the African American population could read and do sums - A vitally important ability in a Jim Crow society. Jim Crowism came to embody the laws, customs, and policies of segregation (Foner, 2006, pp. 310), but more importantly the post civil war ‘separate but not
References: Drakeford, W. (2002). The Impact of an Intensive Program to Increase the Literacy Skills of Youth Confined to Juvenile Corrections. Journal of Correctional Education, Vol. 53 Issue 4, p139-144, 6p. Retrieved April 17, 2008. from http://web.ebscohost.com Foner, E. (2006). Give ME Liberty! An American History. New York: W.W Norton & Company Ltd. Literacy Behind Bars: Results From the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy Prison Survey, http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2007473 Nealy, M. J. (2008). BLACK MEN LEFT OUT AND LOCKED UP. Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. Vol. 24 Issue 26, p20-22, 3p. Retrieved April 17, 2008. from http://web.ebscohost.com Patterson, O. (2006, March 26) A Poverty of the Mind. New York Times. Retrieved April 17, 2008, from http://www.nytimes.com Roman, S. ( 2004). ILLITERACY AND OLDER ADULTS: INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIETAL IMPLICATIONS. Educational Gerontology. Vol. 30 Issue 2, p79-93, 15p. . Retrieved April 17, 2008 from http://web.ebscohost.com Staples, B. (2006, January 1). Why Slave-Era Barriers to Black Literacy Still Matter. New York Times. Retrieved April 17, 2008, from http://www.nytimes.com U.S. Department of Justice (2001) Federal Bureau of Prisons, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Special Report. Retrieved May 15, 2008. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/ascii/spe01.txt Western, B. (2007). Mass Imprisonment and Economic Inequality. Social Research, Vol. 74 Issue 2, p509-532, 24p. Retrieved April 17, 2008 from http://web.ebscohost.com