The Color Purple

  In E. Yvette Walters' Women and Literacy in Alice Walker's The Color Purple, she talks about five major epistemological categories from which women view themselves as well as reality.  She says that we as women use these major categories to "draw conclusions about truth, knowledge, and authority" (138). The categories are:
a) silence
b) received knowledge
c) subjective knowledge
d) procedural knowledge
e) constructed knowledge

  "The simplest form of knowing is silence" (140).  A lot of times people know something and do not speak up for whatever reason.  I recall several times my professors would ask a question and no one would raise their hand, but deep down everyone would know the answer.  The reason behind this maybe because we are intimidated and lack confidence in our answers.  We often times keep quiet for fear of embarrassment.  Celie was silent  because she had been voiceless from the start.  She was always threatened not to speak and she felt that she did not know anything, and she did not mind.
  Walters also highlights the subjective woman.  According to Walters, the subjective woman forges new rules and establishes boundaries for herself and her relationships. She has negative attitudes towards specific men due to her past experiences and she feels that she can do without one.  We all know women who are like this if not ourselves.  In BET's The Game, we see Tasha Mack.  When we were first introduced to Tasha Mack, she was single, bitter, and unhappy.  She had been bitter because she was a teen mother and the father of her son had walked out on her leaving her to raise her son, Maliek, by herself.  She could not go to prom or any other events a high schooler would have the chance to endure.  She holds on to that bitterness towards men until she confronts the father of her son.  Yes, I am going somewhere with this.  In the new season we see a new Tasha Mack.  A confident, fierce, successful Tasha Mack.  She is a lot happier and she is dating again.  I wanted to make the connection that from the way I see it, subjective women tend to be unhappy deep down inside.  She may walk around with a smile on her face like she is Ms. Independent, but she is suffering inside.  Now I know all subjective women are not like this, but I am simply stating my opinions and interpretations.

What is really behind the "BIG WIN"

Halle Berry's winning the Oscar for her performance in "Monster's Ball" was an exciting moment, I am sure, in her life as well as for all the African American women who have gone before her to help create this moment in time.  I mean, that is the "prize" correct?  To play such an awesome performance in a motion picture and walk away with an Oscar.

But one has to really think, what was her role?  Her character was a black widower of a death row inmate who fell in love with a racist prison guard. Nothing against Halle Berry, I LOVE HER, but wow, an Oscar for a role depicting the black woman, in my opinion, in another negative way.  But hey, who I am to judge what the mass population, or at least those who had the opportunity to vote towards her winning, thought was a stellar performance. 

 Reading Joanne Kilgour Dowdy" Reel Women:  Black Women and Literacy in Feature Films has caused me to better analyze the "why" behind the win.  Did the voter's really love Halle's performance so well, or did they agree with the image that was being portrayed on the "Big Screen". 

Either way, I will now look at movies more critically that feature African American women as the main character.  What story are the directors trying to tell?  Does it "lift up or tear down our image? 

Again, I have no issues with the performers, they are making their way in a very hard profession.  I just feel as the viewer, we need to really be careful or be more sensitive to what is being shown as an example of what an African American Woman looks life in real life...

Going Against the Grain to pg 134

“Each movement toward literacy was a signal that these women were going very much against the grain of prevailing cultural beliefs, practices and expectations”(114).

Black women have always been in the position to take care of and nurture those around her, in Going Against the Grain Royster puts the spotlight on black women who were fighting against the law for the rights and literacy. It goes on to account the many people who were against slavery but never put forth any effort to stop it, such as Thomas Jefferson. She also highlights people who were strong advocates for the freedom of black people.

                I found it compelling to read that there were so many people who were against slavery but did nothing at all to stop it. As I dwelt on this fact I thought about times when things like this happen today. For example many people do not like ‘bullies’ yet very few will stand up for the kid who is getting beat up, they just keep on with their day and are glad that they are not the ones getting picked on.

                I would like to place a challenge on you. If there is something you are against, do not be a bystander, stand up for what you believe in and fight for it to be made right. Stop the nonsense.

Going Against the Grain Part II

     "Thus, by the turn of the eighteenth Century, education was considered a necessity for good citizenship, not just for the knowledge of God's word." Royster (133).
In this reading, I am amazed to learn how many people were involved in the education of African Americans.  Reading about how "property was handed over to purchase African Americans from slavery to educate them" (132) has led me to believe all white people were not for slavery.  Slavery was just the law of the land, but some people, especially religious groups such as the "Quakers, Presbyterians, Baptists, and Methodists" (133) were not at all too concerned with the laws but were committed to end oppression. 
     Now of course, there were those who still felt like the African American people could not  be taught or better yet, did not deserve an education.  Those mindsets however, did not hinder us from finding creative ways to learn. 
Some were taught by slave masters or their children, while others were taught by "picking up" information by overhearing different conversations in the "Big house." (136). 
Now after the civil war, there were three different movements that accelerated African American Education. 
1) The Sabbath School Movement: " a church sponsored, community-run school that provided basic literacy instruction"(153). 
2) The Missionary School Movement: This type of mission required individuals to leave their home and go abroad to a certain area and educate.
3) Common or Public school Movement:  These schools were established as "southern leaders rose to regain their authority by supporting the education of the African American." (154)
     I have to say, that after reading about the fight even after slavery had ended to gain an education has caused me to give much honor to those who have gone ahead of me.  I will no longer complain about the simple things in life that I may feel necessary in order to gain my education.  I will strive to work through whatever obstacles come my way because I do not want to ever again take for granted what I am privileged to receive because of what my ancestors have put in place.

Going Against the Grain : 155 - end

“...they hungered for knowledge in the interest of sustaining both themselves and “the race”” (161).

“The pioneers succeeded in going against the grain of cultural expectations” (161).

Every time I read or hear a story of how a black woman makes a name for herself or how she has made wonderful contributions to society, especially if she is Spelman alum, I feel empowered.  Jacqueline Royster motivates and inspires me in “Going Against the Grain.”  Black women have been oppressed since we came on the scene.  So reading about a black female who has overcome the harsh obstacles that society has flung at us makes me take a sigh of relief.  Spelman is, and has been, a place to educate black women, and all races are welcome.  Knowing that many African American pioneers, such as Clara Howard, or Selena Sloan Butler, have graduated from Spelman gives me reassurance that we ‘Spelmanites’ are destined to greatness if we really want it.  We have to achieve and do well.  We just have to. We cannot let any, current and past, of our Spelman sisters down.  Even though methods of discrimination of black women have changed overtime, my sisters, we still have to go against the grain.  We have to not only compete, but work harder for that job, that promotion, that scholarship which could easily be handed to that non-black female. Before you know it, one of us will be president. 
We can do it.
               We will do it.
                             We are taking over.

Through the Eyes of Another

Reading this interview was extremely rewarding.  I completely appreciate Christina McVay's view regarding being able to learn from teaching Black Literature. 

Growing up in a predominantly white school setting, we were only exposed to a limited amount of Black authors and even the teacher really didn't know how to deliver the "message" of what was read.  We, the students had to "figure it out" for ourselves which left me to not really get a chance to appreciate Black Literature at all. 

I could only imagine how the students must feel to be able to "be themselves" and even more so appreciated for their culture, especially in a learning environment.  Christina McVay was correct when she stated "black students have been told by teachers, by the whole school system, frequently by their own parents, that black English was bad, improper" (94).  My mind suddenly went to the "code switching" that was discussed in Elaine Richardson's article "To Protect and Serve". 
Now McVay has created an environment for the students to be able to be themselves and not have to be concerned with whether or not they are speaking within the correct language code. 
Christina McVay also mentions that she has embraced a lot of different values by teaching Black Literature and that causes one to really thing about changing their "own world". 
Just because you were raised one way, as you get older, you can "change your view" if it does not align with your own values. 
Christina McVay is a wonderful example of being brave to step out and dare to be different and then be bold enough to declare her new love and appreciation for another culture.

Speak

“Black women comprise 44% of all illiterate women (Safman, 1986). 

Hearing that black women are illiterate saddens me, yet it makes me want to do better.  This fact makes me  sad because I am a black woman and, for lack of a better phrase, those are my people.  It is also motivation to go against the norm and become the best literate black woman that I can be to prove myself.  Black women have always, since slavery, been given the short end of the stick. 

  While Sharon Darling speaks on “Literacy and the Black Woman,” she says that “If literacy is narrowly defined as just being able to read and write, the number who would have been considered literate is negligible.”  This makes me think of the storytelling chapter that we read.  One of my classmates defined literacy as being able to read, write, and speak.  Going off of her definition, I believe that many black women are literate to some degree.  Although some black women might not be able to read or write well, we sure as hell can speak.  However, I do agree that we as black women should become literate.  Not only for  our family, but also for ourselves so that we can have a chance to compete in this cruel discriminate world.