Introduction 

The institution of slavery, specifically in the American South, was characterized by brutal violence and systemic oppression. Physical punishments and the stripping of autonomy were routine methods used to maintain the social order and racial hierarchy of the slave trade. For enslavers, the denial of education to enslaved people became a powerful tool of subjugation. However, enslaved peoples recognized the importance of literacy and knowledge in resistance, empowerment, and the overall fight for freedom. Despite the severe consequences if caught, enslaved individuals risked their lives to learn to read and write, and free Black communities worked tirelessly to establish schools and advocate for educational rights. The fight for access to education became a vital aspect of the broader struggle for freedom and equality, and continued even after emancipation.

The African Gally 

In late October of 1705, the African Gally, a British slave ship captained by Francis Bond and Saunders, pulled out of a port in Bristol and headed for the West African coast (SlaveVoyages). While the Triangle Trade held promises of valuable metals and raw materials such as gold, ivory, redwood, and wax, what this particular voyage was interested in was slaves. Prior to this voyage Francis Bond had captained two other slave trips, the “Unity” to Barbados in 1701 and then again in 1702 (SlaveVoyages).   

Map of Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade that shows common travel routes between Europe, Africa, and the Americas (“African History in Maps: Atlantic Slave Trade and Abolition,” 19^th century). 

The Horrors of Enslavement and the Erasure of Humanity

Sometime between October of 1705 and September of 1706 the African Gally landed in a port along the Bright of Biafra in West Africa, likely near modern day Guinea. It is here that 245 enslaved Africans were bought and boarded onto the slave ship destined for Virginia (SlaveVoyages). In the midst of the slave trade, as Hartman notes in Lose Your Mother, Africans became enslaved from war, raiding, commercialized agreements between African royals and Europeans, and the conquests of missionaries, mercenaries and privateers (Hartman 51). However, one of the most common circumstances of enslavement was captivity by another African. Africans residing in the west would capture Africans from the north, whom they believed to be barbaric and uncivilized, and make them travel hundreds of miles by foot in chains and hot weather with little to no food and water. The captives were brought to the coast where they were sold and traded to Europeans at slave markets and then transported to the Americas for plantation labor (Hartman 52). It was at these slave markets and holding dungeons that humans were stripped of their rights and reduced to property. Slaves were bound together or to walls by iron chains and rope and were packed together tightly into small spaces by the hundreds and thousands. Men were separated from women and children to reduce the threat of resistance and families were broken up. Slaves were whipped and beaten at the markets and after being sold and many were branded with a hot iron to mark who they belonged to, similarly to how cattle would be (Hartman 79). The worth of a slave was determined by many things such as their age, gender and ability. Depending on their value some slaves were held in the markets and dungeons for days and other weeks and even months. In these places food and water were scarce, and disease thickened the air. Many slaves grew ill and died before being sold or transported to their final destination. Dysentery was one of the most common diseases given that slaves were eating, sleeping and defecating in the same space. As Hartman writes, “Slavery was a state of death” (Hartman 111). The slaves’ pasts, identities and lives as they knew them were completely erased. At the slave markets and dungeons, the enslaved did not know what awaited them ahead, but they feared for their lives.   

Modern day image of a site in Africa where slave markets were held during the height of the slave trade (Berry, “A Signboard Reminding People of the Former Slave Market,” 2007). 

A Journey of Suffering and Loss

On September 24^th of 1706, after sailing for 328 days, the African Gally disembarked at a port in Virginia near the mouth of the York River (SlaveVoyages). The African Gally’s voyage across the Atlantic was horrifying and agonizing, marked by disease, violence, and torture. Unfortunately, of the 245 slaves that embarked the African Gally in West Africa, only 196 disembarked in Virginia. On the almost year-long voyage across the Middle Passage 20% of the African Gally’s enslaved peoples died (SlaveVoyages).

Image depicting the close living quarters of enslaved people on slave ships (“Stowage of the British Slave Ship ‘Brookes,’” 1788).

Violence and Oppression in the American South

Slavery, as an institution in America, spanned from the colonial period to well past the creation of the United States. Slavery, especially in the American south, was a systematically racist and brutal institution that lasted for more than 200 years. In the southern region of America, crop was king, and the majority of enslaved people belonged to the fields, working on plantations. Slavery in the south is defined by the cruel practices and brutal conditions placed upon the enslaved. On these plantations, violence was not uncommon. White plantation owners saw extreme violence as an effective way of preventing uprisings and keeping enslaved people “in line,” using racist ideology to justify their actions. The Equal Justice Initiative states, “…enslaved people frequently suffered extreme physical violence as punishment for or warning against transgressions like running away, failing to complete assigned tasks, visiting a spouse living on another plantation, learning to read, arguing with White people, working too slowly, possessing anti-slavery materials, or trying to prevent the sale of their relatives” (Equal Justice Initiative, 20). Enslaved people in America were severely oppressed, and their experiences were defined by violence and a lack of rights. 

Scars left behind by violent slave whippings that occurred on Southern plantations. During the Civil War this image was circulated in the North by abolitionists who used it as a campaign strategy for emancipation (“Scars from a Whipping on a Slave’s Back,” 1863). 

The Forced Submission of the Enslaved

The governments in the south, even during the post-colonial period, prohibited and restricted the rights and autonomy of enslaved people. As noted above, violence was commonly used to restrict the abilities of enslaved people, but other means were used as well such as banning the education of enslaved people and their children. In the U.S., especially in the South, the education of enslaved people was strictly prohibited. White citizens and plantation owners feared that literate and educated slaves posed a threat to the system, enabling them to communicate and spread ideas more easily and weakening their dependence on their enslavers. Many believed that the education of enslaved peoples would lead to uprisings and extreme violence against enslavers. As a result, anti-literacy laws were passed which made it illegal for enslaved people and even freed people of color to read and write. Other laws were implemented that made it a crime to teach an enslaved person. An example of one of these anti-literacy laws is the South Carolina Act of 1740 which stated, “Whereas, the having slaves taught to write, or suffering them to be employed in writing, may be attended with great inconveniences; Be it enacted, that all and every person and persons whatsoever, who shall hereafter teach or cause any slave or slaves to be taught to write, or shall use or employ any slave as a scribe, in any manner of writing whatsoever, hereafter taught to write, every such person or persons shall, for every such offense, forfeit the sum of one hundred pounds, current money” (“Image 1 of the Negro Law of South Carolina”). By passing anti-literacy laws such as these enslavers were able to limit slaves’ capacity for independence and resistance through taking away their ability to communicate and establish organized plans and ideas. Preventing education was one medium for legally oppressing enslaved people throughout the U.S and its legacies are still felt in America even today.

The Vital Role of Education in Resistance and Freedom

Enslaved people had known freedom before they were forcibly removed from their homes and taken to North America against their will. Because of this, they not only had hope for their eventual freedom, but they were willing to fight for it. Slave resistance took on all forms, ranging from organized rebellions to small acts of defiance. One of the largest slave uprisings was the Stono Rebellion of 1739 which took place in Charleston, South Carolina. The rebellion consisted of between 60 to 100 Black people and resulted in the death of 20 White people and 40 Black rebels (Elliot and Hughes).  

Newspaper article depicting enslavers’ fears of slave rebellions (“Effect of John Brown’s Invasion at the South,” 1859). 

However, not all forms of slave resistance were violent. One way that many people resisted slavery was by secretly attending school to learn to read and write despite it being prohibited. While they had to be careful not to get caught as their actions were punishable by whippings, enslaved children and even adults were able to get an education through lessons in makeshift and “underground” schools. Learning how to read and write and thus communicate enabled enslaved people to spread messages and better fight for their freedom (Ealey). This important concept was recognized by both enslaved people and their enslavers which is why slaves took on such risks to get an education and enslavers punishments literacy were so extreme.

Literacy was slaves’ secret weapon. It put them on the same playing field as their enslavers and it allowed them to take back part of their humanity when so much of who they were and where they came from was stripped away. As Gibran writes, “You may chain my hands, you may shackle my feet; you may even throw me into a dark prison; but you shall not enslave my thinking, because it is free!” (Ealey). This shows the lengths slaves would go to get an education and why they felt it was worth it.

For people like Susie King and Fredrick Douglass, education and literacy played a role in an even bigger fight for freedom. Learning to read and write at a young age from his enslaver’s wife and White children in his community, Fredrick Douglass went on to use his education in becoming an abolitionist. Douglass’ literacy enabled him to write essays, speeches, and political works speaking out against slavery and advocating for abolition and emancipation in the U.S. (Ealey). Susie King who, as an enslaved child attended secret schools run by Black women in her community, was able to escape her enslaver and at 14 years old used her education to become the first teacher to openly educate African Americans. During the Civil War King also served as a nurse for the Union Army and after the war ended spent her life continuing to teach African Americans in a variety of settings (“Susie King Taylor”). While getting an education was not violent, it was a very effective and successful form of resistance during the height of slavery in the south. Knowledge really was power for enslaved individuals and revolutionized the fight for freedom, acting as a unifying force and weapon that could not be taken away. 

Sources

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Elliot, Mary, and Jazmine Hughes. “A Brief History of Slavery That You Didn’t Learn in School.” The New York Times, 19 Aug. 2019, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/19/magazine/history-slavery-smithsonian.html. 

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Voyage Information. www.slavevoyages.org/voyage/16016