During slavery, Black people were often forbidden to read or write. In fact, the common belief was that Black people could not really learn to read or write. However, the real reason for the prohibition sprung from the likelihood that an enslaved person who learned to read and write would run away or become more difficult to manage. They said it could not be done, but we did it.
Runaway Wallace Turnage learned to read and write while he was enslaved. He then ran away. Frederick Douglass, Thomas James, and John Berry Meacham are other well-known examples of Black persons learning how to read and write while they were enslaved. Each then ran away from slavery. The most famous Black person to learn to read and write in colonial times was Phillis Wheatley. She wrote beautiful poetry that was widely extolled by people in the U.S. and Europe. They said it could not be done, but we did it.
In 1739, South Carolina enacted the first law prohibiting Black people from being taught to read or write. Anyone, whether White or Black, who taught Black people to read or write, could be imprisoned for six months and fined thousands of dollars in today’s money. In 1819, Missouri enacted a law prohibiting the teaching of slaves to read or write or even to assemble for that purpose. In 1832, Alabama and Virginia enacted laws that prohibited White persons from teaching Black persons to read or write. The punishment was flogging and large fines. In 1833, Georgia prohibited Black people from working in reading or writing jobs and/or teaching other Black persons to read or write. Those who violated the law could be punished by whipping and large fines. They said it could not be done, but we did it.
Even in the North, there was great hostility and opposition to Black people learning to read and write. Black people learned anyway. In many northern states, Black people were barred from attending public schools. Private schools that attempted to educate Black and White students together were destroyed by mobs. They said it could not be done, but we did it.
In spite of great obstacles, some Black people obtained a measure of education. The Quakers established education programs in the North before and after the Revolutionary War. The Congregationalists and Anglicans encouraged reading of scriptures, but writing was discouraged because writing was a symbol of status. It was alright for Black people to be taught mathematics but not reading and writing. Math helped enslaved people to better serve their “masters.” Thousands of enslaved persons learned to read and write in spite of harsh efforts to prevent such learning. They said it could not be done, but we did it.
After the Civil War ended and slavery was abolished, formerly enslaved people rushed to educate themselves and their children. While states provided some monies for public education, Black people still had to purchase land, construct buildings, and raise money to hire teachers. Even when public resources were provided, the schools were segregated by law and less funding was provided for Black schools. My mother stopped after the 7th grade because there were no schools for Black people that went beyond the 7th grade. They said it could not be done, but we did it.
When I graduated from high school in 1960, Black teachers in Alabama were paid half the salary of White teachers. All of our books, buses, and school materials were secondhand, passed down from White schools. As I recall, the only books in our junior high school library were two small sets of encyclopedias, which I read through and through. Most high schools for Black people at the time were called “training schools” because most Whites held a widespread belief that Black people could not be educated but could be “trained” as certain animals are “trained.” They said it could not be done, but we did it.
While African-Americans were struggling after the Civil War to obtain even a minimum education, they established Black colleges such as Shaw University in North Carolina in 1865; Talladega College in Alabama in 1867; Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 1867; Morehouse College in Georgia in 1867; Hampton University in Virginia in 1868, and so on. Two Black colleges, Cheney State (1852) and Lincoln University (1854), were established before the Civil War while slavery was still in full force. Former slaves started these institutions of higher education. Religious denominations played a critical role in establishing Black colleges and universities. These Black colleges, which grew to more than 100, initially focused on educating teachers, preachers, and farmers. They said it could not be done, but we did it.
The 1954 Supreme Court decision, Brown v. Board of Education, declared racially segregated schools unconstitutional. I read about Thurgood Marshall, the Black lawyer who successfully argued the case. I had never seen a lawyer, not to speak of a Black lawyer, but because I read about Marshall, I decided that I wanted to be a lawyer. I was the first person on either side of my family to graduate from college. However, to this day, the Brown v. Board decision has not been fully implemented. Black people are still overcoming the profound impact of slavery, segregation, and other obstacles to education. Still, so many African-Americans have achieved great things in the education arena in spite of great obstacles and great odds. They said it could not be done, but we did it.
EPILOGUE – Education - especially reading and writing - is foundational in any society. When the people are barred from and/or limited in learning to read and write, it affects everything in that society for generations. When I look back at this history of racial discrimination in education, I am amazed that Black people have accomplished so much. They said it could not be done, but we did it.
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