Jamie Li

Per. 3 Lucero
February 11, 2014
Appropriating Literacy Essay
Frederick Douglas and Malcolm X both had very passionate and dynamic beliefs about
literacy and education. They also had to surpass a number of obstacles in order to become
educated. Both also thought that literacy and knowledge is power and that is what the white
people wanted to keep from the other ethnicities. Learning to read opened new doors for both of
the men and led them to transcendent conclusions about life and humanity. During their series of
epiphanic moments, they also realized the numerous yet simple tactics that oppressive
governments used to prevent certain groups from becoming educated. Throughout these
realizations, they have come up with an extraordinary amount of revolutionary ideas that slowly
began to change the nations views of knowledge.
Frederick Douglas and Malcolm X overcame unusual obstacles in order to obtain
knowledge. Frederick Douglas asked the local white boys to give him reading lessons in
exchange for bread when his mistress toughened up and refused to tutor him any longer. Douglas
also learned to write from watching ship carpenters write letters on lumber. He also copied
dictionaries and practiced his penmanship using his masters sons old copybooks. Malcolm X
started becoming literate when he was in prison. He spent his time copying the dictionary word
by word onto his tablet which eventually led him to being able to read fragments of sentences in
books he picked up. He fell in love with reading and would stay up past curfew using a tiny little
light to guide his eyes through the book during the night. Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X
share common ground when it comes to literacy, its power, and the epiphanic conclusions they
have come up with as a result. They both believe that being literate is a privilege but should be
available to all because it opens doors to opportunities and changes lives like it changed theirs.
This belief came from their personal experiences.
If they were to stay illiterate, Frederick Douglass and Malcolm X would not have become
as influential and important as they are in history. Learning to read and write has helped open up
a new world for Frederick Douglass because it gave him a chance for freedom and relieve
himself from being ignorant which is what his masters wanted him to be. Malcolm X wanted to
become literate so he could understand the teachings of his idol, Elijah Muhammad. Not only did
these two influential men become very intelligent and influential, they have inspired others
around them to stand for their cause and begin to learn to read.
Ignorance is not always bliss, especially when it concerns ignoring the equality and the
rights of a human being. Both men found out that the main reason why oppressive governments
and institutions wanted to keep education from certain groups was to keep the people in these
groups ignorant. Ignorant of what ? Ignorant of the lucid fact that every human being deserves
equal rights regardless of skin color, race, background, etc. However, most of the people that
worked for these people didnt know anything about it and that is the way that the oppressive
governments liked to keep it. Those masters and people of the like even kept simple information
like age and parentage away from them. They also feared that if the slaves were to learn to read,
theyd have a much bigger chance at rebelling and running away. This was the main focus of
why slaveholders refused to educate their slaves.
Literacy, knowledge, and education in general is being taken for granted by people and
majority of them dont even realize it. There is a very good reason why most people work a
whole lot harder when they have to pay for education or work to stay in the educational institute.
That is because they know that it can be taken away at any time and that it is very important that
they take advantage of it while they have it. Both people in Douglas and Malcolm Xs time and
the people that have to put in effort to receive an education, work hard to do so because they
know it is not an easy or common thing to come by. If people were to come to the realization that
if they knew what it was like and how hard it was to obtain knowledge back in that era, they
would not take their education so lightly. Now that we have education and knowledge, free
education might I add, we feel indifferent about it. We dont cherish and value it as much as we
should because its given to us. Nonetheless, more and more people are starting to realize that
education is invaluable if they wish to have a good future. They are coming to the conclusion
that if they work really hard, they will get a good education which will take them places.
The hindrances that Frederick Douglas and Malcolm X had to overcome were quite
different but they led to very similar results. Those results were that they found education and the
ability to read and write to be invaluable and that helped them to become revolutionaries of their
time. The way people nowadays view education and the ways people of their time period viewed
literacy is dramatically different in the sense that people dont value it as much as they should
because it is very crucial to open doors and opportunities for people.