Despite the freedoms identified in the United States Constitution, we live in a country that has repeatedly found ways to communicate to certain communities that their stories and lives should be hidden. For too long, the country has implied that some of us are wrong, that we should be kept out of sight, and that we are shameful.
Some of the ways this country has silenced us include denying us the opportunity to tell their stories or forbidding us from learning other’s stories. The failure to acknowledge someone communicates that they are less than and unworthy of attention or celebration.
In the South, forbidding communities from accessing the stories of others has typically been deemed necessary under the guise of protection. Some argue that these stories need to be hidden for the safety of society. But, from the perspective of those who have been forced to hide, these conversations seem to be less about safety and more about the security of some people’s positions in society.
Hiding stories allows for mistakes to be made over and over again. The absence of these stories leads people to believe that they do not have the power or ability to address harm and evoke change. In fact, there is a direct connection between what took place in the past and what is happening presently.
Literacy became a life-or-death issue early in the history of the United States for these “different” communities. Black people, in particular, learned to discourage one another from pursuing any form of education out of fear of what would happen if it was learned that a person was literate. Even when it became legal for Black people to be taught to read and write, members of the Black community discouraged one another from using these skills, especially if their words were intended to challenge authority.
This is evidenced by how Ida B. Wells was harassed and threatened for publishing a newspaper and writing about lynchings. In this vein, one can understand why some communities learned to preserve their stories and histories in spoken, rather than written, form. Much of the Black and the American Indian communities’ emphasis on oral traditions was about safety and sanctity.
Too often, those in positions of power feared what would happen if the marginalized and the mistreated were informed about what they were deserving of. Even more concerning to them was what would happen if people were encouraged to take action in response to mistreatment. While many believe that you cannot use the master’s tools to destroy his house, there is an argument that one should at least have access to the master’s tools for equality and equity purposes. To deny this access is to maintain a hierarchy that emphasizes who should have authority and who should be subjected to whatever those in authority choose to do.
This message comes in multiple forms. We see this in versions and interpretations of the Bible that were intended to keep women and enslaved populations in subservient positions. This was also the case for stories about rebellions, emancipation, and escapes, all of which were hidden from people who remained in bondage.
In North Carolina, white supremacy has shown up in many ways as it pertains to literacy. This is most apparent in laws prohibiting anyone from teaching slaves to read or write (1818, 1830) and the establishment of the literacy requirement for voting (1899). While you may think these laws don’t presently impact us–particularly because legislation like the Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed practices like the literacy test–North Carolina’s official state documents may give you pause. The state of North Carolina has not removed the literacy requirement from the state constitution.
As of now, article VI, section 4 of the North Carolina State Constitution still states: “Every person presenting himself for [voter] registration shall be able to read and write any section of the Constitution in the English language.”
According to data collected by wisevoter in 2023, the literacy rate in North Carolina was 78.7%. Our state ranks thirty-fifth in literacy compared to other states in the United States. One would think that for a state where literacy is such a concern–the last thing we should do is connect people’s fundamental rights to their reading and writing skills.
The concerning language regarding literacy for voters should have been removed from the State Constitution years ago. Now, we’re left explaining to future generations why the language is still there – and any excuses still made to defend it.
Photo by Joel Muniz on Unsplash
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