Transformative College Literacy of Literate Black Women Peer Counselors

In 1997, Robin Wisniewski created a peer counseling program that provided literacy support for college students with disabilities, from low income backgrounds, and in the first generation in their family to attend college. Peer counselors would assist between 80 and 100 students per semester with implementing new strategies for studying, textbook reading, note taking, test anxiety, stress, career exploration, and many others. The way the peer counselors taught and their way of thinking completely transformed Wisniewski.

The story focuses on two African American females Lauryn and Vania. These two young ladies were from very different backgrounds. Lauryn grew up in a more urban setting where she went to a high school with a 99.9 percent African American population whereas Vania went to a predominately white school where the only black kids there were most likely one of her family members. When asked how they felt about being part of the peer counseling program, Lauryn said “The Peer Counseling Program is more like the culture of a family setting in high school. There’s no separation. There’s not anybody that I don’t get along with…” (Wisniewski 75). Vania replied with a description of the characteristics of the peer counselors stating that “the people who come to this program are all open-minded, people who probably generally get along with a lot of people anyway, who probably care about people or who have those types of supportive personalities.” (Wisniewski 75). Everyone who was a part of this group was aiming toward a common goal. To make people aware that literacy means much more than knowing how to read.

I really enjoyed this reading because it gave two different perspectives of two different African American females. Both grew up in different backgrounds, yet they were able to come together and share their experiences growing up to younger college students. Despite the two of them being stereotypes and generalized because of their race, they still were able to look past that and continue on to what they wished to achieve by being a part of this wonderful organization.

How We Are Portrayed In Film

Joanne Kilgour Dowdy explains how black women that are cast in lead roles typically play a character that is ultimately demeaning to them in her article Reel Women: Black Women and Literacy in Feature Films. They play roles such as addicts, caretakers, and housekeepers. These characters are always depicted as undereducated or submissive. Writers of such movies are creative enough to show these images to the world without much analysis from those without knowledge of this concept. Many people do not realize how detrimental these images are to the Black community. Some believe that the way Black women are shown in movies dictates how they are in reality. The few female African American characters in movies that are intelligent have supporting roles. Therefore, these are not the images that stand out to movie viewers.

What happens when these images are taken as an insight into Black culture? Other ethnicities begin to feel as though Blacks are inferior and incapable of being highly successful without the help of others. This is why there is such surprise when others see African Americans excelling in school and in their careers. These are the images that young, Black women have been seeing since slavery and they are still widely produced. For some, it is the only image they see of themselves. They believe that it is ok to replicate the actions of a fictional character created by a Caucasian writer to depict typical African American behavior. This will continue to be a problem until more Black female writers emerge and attempt to counterbalance this act by producing more positive images for Blacks to identify with and circulating them around the world.

Going Against the Grain

It has always been a struggle for African Americans, particularly African American females, to prove themselves in the world. We have to work twice as hard as the white people to get a good job, maintain that job, and most importantly gain the respect earned from colleagues in the work force. In the article "Going Against the Grain," there is talk about many unsuccessful attempts by black people to gain their rights as citizens. Although most people were against treating African Americans like humans, there were some who felt African Americans deserved to be free and equal. This is not to say that they did not doubt our potential. Blacks have always been known as illiterate because at one point it was against the law for a black slave to learn to read and write. So although there were many who were rooting for our freedom, they still felt we were incapable of learning to read and write.

The most interesting part of the article to me was the story about Maria W. Stewart. She was the first African American woman known to have written essays. I found her story compelling because she was an independent non-struggling African American. Prior to marrying her husband James W. Stewart, she worked as a domestic servant to support herself. She and her husband were members of a small group of elites where they engaged in lively social and political activities. When her husband passed away, he left her everything. Unfortunately, her husband’s white business colleagues wanted everything. So she took them to court. After battling them for two years, she not only found herself stripped of everything he had owned but she was also subject to racial and gender discrimination. Because of this, she decided to go public with it.

I found it brave on her part to take these two white men to court because it was during a time period when slavery was slowing down but it still existed. I’m glad she took what happened to her during the court case public because it shows the world that black women aren’t illiterate and we are capable of standing up for ourselves, our beliefs, and what we know is wrong and unjust treatment.

Unbreakable...

The ability to use language has always been important to the African American race. Author, Jacqueline Royster describes how the concept of storytelling was one of the traditions that Africans continued to utilize after they were shipped to the Americas. Storytelling was used as a way to preserve the rich African culture. Not surprisingly, this was one of the many roles that women played in the African society. Through their stories, women were to lead their listeners down the path in which they should go.

Women were continuously degraded, yet their self esteem remained intact. “They were treated in a genderless way as they were called upon to work side by side with men” (Stewart 111). Enslaved women did what was forced upon them to do. They worked like men on the plantation and were sexually abused when it was convenient to the slave owner. However, this did not discourage African women from being strong and this strength allowed them, as well as others, to live. In addition to keeping the spirits of their community high, these black women made several attempts to speak out and stand up for equality. They attempted to use the legal system as a way to win rights that had not previously been awarded to Blacks. This in itself was an exciting feat for African Americans.

It is sad that women have never been given the credit that they deserve. Black women play such a huge part in the history of the African American culture; however, little is ever said about them. They are the glue that holds the community together, but they are consistently taken for granted. From this reading alone, it is easy to realize how strong and important women are. As slaves, they were made to do the same work as men, while being subject to sexual harassment and abuse on an everyday basis, in addition to taking care of a household. This means that they had twice the responsibility of Black men and constantly had to try to avoid being raped. Regardless, women took this responsibility in stride and maintained their dignity. These women laid the foundation for African American women today.

So They Say We're Illiterate...

Since the beginning of time Blacks have had to endure the unequal treatment placed upon them by their oppressors. This has caused many issues within the Black community. One of the most prominent problems is that a large percentage of Black women are considered illiterate by the terms of society. However, there are many contributors to this statistic that are caused primarily by the structure of the curriculum, instead of by the woman herself. Even the educational systems that are in effect today neglect the needs of young Black women, thus leaving them illiterate. Sadly, this lack of regard damages the future of the children born to these women, which creates an ongoing cycle of illiteracy.

It bothers me that Black women have to work twice as hard as anyone else to be accepted in European society. In the classroom setting, the needs of a Black woman remain unmet, yet she is still expected to succeed. Adding children to this equation makes learning even more of a task. Though it is unfair, Black women must fight to overcome these challenges. She is the force that will drive the Black race to be viewed as more than a group of people that allow the government to take care of her family through services such as welfare. The day when the majority of Black women are literate, is the day that they can teach their children to become literate. The race will finally be seen as the intelligent people they are. They will have achieved the two most important aspects of society, advancement and social change.

Black Women/ Black Literature

For years, the language of African Americans has been viewed as wrong. Young children are told from the very beginning not to talk like black people because it is a sign of ignorance or being “ghetto”. So when a child who has not been taught these same beliefs encounters a child who has, the child that talks more proper is said to talk “white”. In this interview conducted by Joanna Kilgour Dowdy, Christina McVay,a white woman, talks about her experiences teaching English to a class with all African American students. She talks about how her success comes from making the students feel comfortable around her and allowing them to open up to her. Her style of teaching is very different from many other white teachers. First off, she wanted to teach at a school where the majority of students were Black. Most schools that are majority white will not really talk about African American history. If they do, it is because of black history month. She also allows her students to express themselves and gives them the opportunity to write in the language they were so often told is wrong. By allowing the students to do various assignments using ‘slang’, she is teaching them that there is nothing wrong with it and the appropriate times to use it.

I enjoyed this interview because I have never had or heard of a teacher, specifically a white teacher, that was willing to teach a group of African American students a way to embrace their culture. Most will shy away because of the way we speak or because we don’t like English. I respected the fact that she did not act like she knew everything about our culture and was open to learning new things from the students. This made the classroom instantly become one of dialogue and interactions. If the school systems had more diverse teachers like this, I do not think most black students would dislike English as much as they do.

To Be Black, Female, and Literate: A Personal Journey in Education and Alienation

Leonie C. R Smith’s Autobiography entitled To be Black, Female, and Literate tells the story of Smith’s educational journey and the trials and obstacles that she faced while acquiring an education. Her journey to become a multilingual literate Black woman began on the island of Antigua, where she worked hard to become an academically successful black woman. Impelled by her desire not to suffer under the victimization of those more literate, like her grandmother, Smith worked hard at a young age to overcome every obstacle she faced. Obstacles such as losing her mother at a young age, her birth home burning down, and her father after years of depression leading up to her mother’s death, leaving his children and remarrying again in the states.

Smith seemed to have a determination that couldn’t be killed no matter her circumstances. Principles imparted on her by her parents who laid the foundation to continue despite present circumstances. This foundation helped her reach her goals and excel at an early age. An example of such excellence was displayed after Smith explained that “The classes were divided into As and Bs in primary school, from infant 1 (kindergarten) to Junior 5 (6th or 7th grade). The A classes were for the students who were considered to be academically gifted, and the B classes were for those students who did not fare as well academically. I remember always being in the A classes, and I always came in first, second, or third place within the class.” (Smith, 187).

So why exactly is this quote so important to this literary essay? This is because despite Smith's early success in life and determination to let nothing distract her, she became a successful, literate, black woman. It was not until her matriculation through secondary school and college that for the first time in her life faced the brunt of discrimination and the ridicule in which it bought. Smith was unprepared for the struggles in which she now faced and unfortunately because of this, her grades suffered. For the first time in Smith’s life she not only failed her courses, but she also learned an important life lesson. Smith had learned that no matter the time and energy she dedicated to excelling at school, her race couldn’t be avoided she was an African American and now had to prove herself as a black, literate female.

In addition, Smith’s constant desire to compare herself to “Tee," the main character of Merle Hodge’s (1970) Crick Crack Money narrative shows Smith’s desire to pacify herself and show that although things were difficult they could have been worse. Smith's pursuit to be literate could have been similar to "Tee's" and the racial discrimination she faced. Sadly, Smith is caught off guard due to her present circumstances and the “experiences of involvement or alienation can directly or indirectly affect the performance and success not only of students, but faculty as well (Smith 1991).”

In conclusion, Smith reveals that her matriculation through secondary school and college helped her to not only become a multilingual, literate Black woman, but through these trials and struggles she became a strong, intelligent, black women who was not only aware of herself but also the world around her.