Why I cannot support the quote “The best way to hide something from Black people is to put it in a book”

“The best way to hide something from Black people is to put it in a book.”

The quote above is something many of us have heard in rhetoric from our educators, politicians, and parents. Such rhetoric center on a need for Black people, particularly young Black people, to pick up a book and read. In this rhetoric lies a belief that Black people do not want to read and possess some personal disposition to prefer ignorance over enlightenment. Somehow, in an age where we have access to multiple forms of media and free libraries, the unwillingness to pick up a book and read is about individual choice and the idea that “Black people just choose to remain in a state of ignorance.” Surely this inability to access at least one form of reading material is dependent on one’s decision to either read or not and individual motivation or lack thereof. This myth that Black people do not want to read or possess the motivation to be literate denies a continued struggle of progress made over the past 150 years.

At one point in history, the pure ability to read and write were indicators of literacy in the United States. Early surveys focused on census reports of fundamental reading and writing skills. In 1979, about 1 percent of residents 14 years and over were considered illiterate (National Center for Education Statistics, 2018). The percentage of Black Americans considered literate increased from 20 percent in 1870 to about 92 percent in 1979. Surveys considered basic elements of reading and writing, and advances in primary education in the United States somehow reduced the literacy gap between White/European Americans and Black/African Americans; 80 percent of White/European Americans were considered literate in 1870 and, by 1979, that number increased to about 99 percent. If we were to do the math regarding progress, then we can hypothesize there was an upsurge in literacy among Black people in the United States that surpassed growth rate of White/European Americans.

Definitions of literacy and how we assess reading in the United States have changed since then yet the generations that proceeded newly emancipated slaves have continued to press forward. Accordingly, from 1979 to 2012 Black children have narrowed the achievement gap and made significant gains in performance on national reading assessments. The results may be due to school choice options for low-income and Black families, an increase in educational attainment, or the increase in literacy rates across the broad population. And, maybe just maybe someone or a parent had access to a book, picked it up, and read it.

We are so quick to see one picture, witness one person, and then form generalizations about people and their capacity. There is something about our need to focus on the negative, the deficits, and deny the capacity of Black people in navigating a system that was never created or designed for them to be successful. This is something many have been guilty of and will continue to support. Choosing to tell one story over the other will perpetuate the idea of individual deficits versus collective strengths.

We will deny the single mother who takes the bus, a car or walks to the library for her son/daughter to check out books. We will deny the Black parent who dropped out of high school but works to find tutoring and other opportunities for their child to be more exceptional than they ever were. We will refuse to see the Black parent who supports their child as much as they can although they may not be able to read or understand the homework assignment. We will deny those Black parents who read to their child at night or has their child read to them.

The truth is we continue to allow the full capacity of Black people to hide behind the myths and stories of those who choose to believe in their inferiority. So, if the book only tells stories and his-story where Black people are absent, serve in subordinate positions, or depicts them in ways that diminish their humanity, then I will be sure not to pick it up and read it too.