An Inspiring Hero

“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free. Knowledge makes a man unfit to be a slave.” ~Frederick Douglass

Frederick Douglass was born into slavery in 1818. During slavery there were slave codes that banned African Americans from learning to read or write. Even during slavery, there were a few ways around injustice. Douglass was taught to read by his slaveholder’s wife. The full story is found in The Life and Times of Frederick Douglass.

Douglass was a smart man, and he was determined to learn to read. His oppressor also knew that reading would open the door to a wealth of knowledge and eventual freedom. Douglass gains his freedom and becomes a great orator and abolitionist.

Not being able to read is a much more crippling disability than many a physical ailment. Thirty-two million adults in the United States cannot read. In my opinion, sharing narratives on how many in the enslaved population learned to read against all odds may inspire others to learn to read, thereby reducing the twenty-first century illiteracy rate.

I read a story about a man who learned to read at age fifty-four. When he was in sixth grade, his school gave up on trying to educate him. A learning disability combined with multiple family problems made learning difficult. One day, he heard his sick mother express her disappointment in the school for abandoning her son. Her advocacy on his behalf empowered her son. After she passed, his passion to learn to read intensified. He discovered an adult literacy program that was able to help him. There are adult literacy programs across the nation. If you know someone who needs this assistance, refer them to https://www.nld.org or call 1-877-389-6874.

“You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” ~Ray Bradbury

Interested in reading more of my writings:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/1732039615