There were many concepts revolving around literacy discussed in the reading “Toward A Theory Of Black Literate Lives” by Maisha Fisher. The primary concepts included the concept of literacy as a gateway to freedom and humanity for oppressed peoples such as African Americans; literacy as a communal act; orality being respected less than the written word; and more. However, among these concepts, what stood out to me the most was the concept of institutions providing oppressed groups with a means to power and self-determination.
According to the text, when subordinate groups build their own institutions and create social, cultural and intellectual activities; promote the welfare of their population; educate and socialize children of said group; honor their histories; and encourage cultural pride, they can be extremely powerful as a tool of resistance and self-actualization for an oppressed people, as was the case with African Americans.
Although quite different from the Independent Black Institutions (IBI) discussed in Fisher’s text, I attended an educational and cultural institution for my local Jewish community that operated similar to the IBI’s mentioned above and it had a very positive impact on my growth.
I went to Hebrew school twice a week from when I was a preschooler until I was in seventh grade, and there I was taught not only Hebrew, but the history of the Jewish people; important parts of Jewish culture and religion such as traditional Jewish dance, cooking, art, and folk music; oral histories and storytelling; important prayers, holidays, rituals, and their meanings; the teachings of the Torah and Talmud, and more.
Growing up in a small midwestern town where I was almost always the only Jew in my class and at times the only Jew in my entire school, going to Hebrew school provided a valuable experience where I could connect with other Jews my age, learn about and celebrate my culture/religion, and foster cultural pride. Hebrew school provided me with tools to not withdraw in sadness or strike back in anger when I was harassed or belittled by non-Jewish classmates in my daily life at school and beyond.
Connecting back to the concept of literacy as it is discussed in Fisher’s text, to declare that being learned or intelligent is equal to “literacy” in the context of reading and writing only excludes large populations and cultures of people to whom literacy is equivalent to more than the written word.
After reading “Toward A Theory Of Black Literate Lives” and reflecting on my own culture’s important literate traditions that do not involve reading or writing, I believe that literacy should be defined more broadly as being adept in more than one mode of communication, rather than limiting literacy to only reading and writing.
In this paper, I described varying concepts of literacy as discussed by Maisha Fisher in the reading “Toward A Theory Of Black Literate Lives." I then connected the Independent Black Institutions (IBI's) described by Fisher to my own history of attending Hebrew school. Both institutions function to educate and socialize children of their respective groups, to foster cultural pride, to create social, intellectual, and cultural activities, and more.
I realized that literacy is much more than just reading and the written word, and that oral traditions are just as important and valid intellectually, socially, and culturally. Therefore, I concluded that the definition of literacy should not be limited to the reading and writing, and should extend to mean ability in the linguistic mode.
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