The Politics of Literacy and Spirituality

Abstract

Enslavement is indelibly etched in the historiography of the United States of America. In fact, it extends across the entire globe. This chapter asserts that it is the original content and continued context of the Black experience in America. In interrogating the dogma of racism and the extent to which it defined and has continued to define the characteristics distinguishing the free and the oppressed, this researcher acknowledges that race is not merely a social construct, it is the foundation for all of the political and economic systems on which this country is constructed. As the USA continues with the struggle to attain educational reform with the emphasis on the achievement gap that exists between white and Black students, this researcher interrogates the educational development and attainment of the enslaved Black population who were the ancestors of the Black and Brown children that the USA identifies as lagging behind the performance of white students. What are the historical factors that have led to this? Did the ancestors have access to education? What were the enslavers' response to the education of the enslaved? If education was denied all Black people, how did they navigate this particular form of oppression? What are the outcomes of this resistance against the denial of literacy? Did the ancestors create an alternative system of literacy? What were/are the outcomes of this alternative system and to what extent has this shaped and continues to shape the lives of Black/Brown school children today? Is there education beyond/outside of literacy? This chapter interrogates the journey of Africans and their descendants in their bid to attain literacy in a state antagonistic to this purpose.