Tag Archives: literacy

The USA Literacy Crisis & This Election

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by ©️Leslye Joy Allen

One factor that no one is talking about is the USA’s #LiteracyCrisis! I taught college history for 7 years and belong to 5 generations of educators in my family. Yet, this country NEVER bothers to consult educators or librarians about anything. Let me share this observation.

I met a MAGA supporter a few months ago who believed that a person could graduate from college without completing a set number of classroom hours if they chose a less demanding occupation or discipline. He thought an English major could graduate with fewer hours than say, a scientist because (his words) the scientist’s job was more difficult than teaching English. Therefore the English major should not have to take as many classes. I kid you not.

Former Georgia Gubernatorial candidate and activist Stacy Abrams, Esq. stated about two weeks ago that the Republican Party has deliberately operated a targeted propaganda campaign to politically disaffected Black men under age 50 over the last 3 major election cycles. They post propaganda and misinformation all over social media targeting these younger men and it worked.

While the majority of Black men voted for Kamala Harris, one in four Black men under 50 supported ‘45.’ Why did this Republican strategy work?

Because the men who are targeted do not read. If you do not read, you do not do any research. And individuals who don’t do any of the above are reliant on what people tell them. They follow what titillates them. They follow whatever propaganda sates their sense that the world is unfair to them. They are easy to fool and to lead and mislead.

This is what we are up against. TWENTY-ONE percent of ALL US adults are completely illiterate. FIFTY-FOUR percent of US adults read below the 6th grade level.

So, now we have a majority of American adults (75% to be exact) who either can’t read or don’t read. When you factor in sexism and misogyny and racism and an over dependence on the internet instead of an over dependence on going to the library, you have a recipe for disaster. So, put on your thinking caps but please talk to some educators and insist that your media outlets do the same.

©️Leslye Joy Allen

All blogs written by Leslye Joy Allen are protected by U. S. Copyright Law and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Any partial or total reference to any blog authored by Leslye Joy Allen, or any total or partial excerpt of any blog authored by Leslye Joy Allen must contain a direct reference to this hyperlink: https://leslyejoyallen.com with Leslye Joy Allen clearly stated as the author.  Postings or blogs placed here by other writers should clearly reference those writers.  All Rights Reserved.

A Black boy and a White boy

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by Leslye Joy Allen

Some folk will read the title of this blog and think that this blog is about race relations or racism.  This blog is not about that, at all…

This blog is not about the Black boy who got arrested or killed by police.  It is not about some Black boy who is a genius and who has defied the odds and created some great new invention.  It is not about some White boy that got away with something that would probably get the Black boy killed.  And it is also not about some White boy, who, like that Black boy, invented some new technology or has an unusually high IQ.  This blog is about two typical American boys…

I met the Black boy a few years ago when I went to observe a music class at the Atlanta Music Project.  He was proudly and boldly blowing his clarinet.  A few months later I attended his recital with the rest of the music students in this program.  He remembered me and promptly took me to meet his music instructor.  I chatted amicably with his mother, and like most native Atlantans, she and I discovered we knew a lot of the same people.  Since then, I have discovered that this Black boy has added the bassoon to his growing number of instruments.  He also won some position in student government at his elementary school.  Thoughtful, talented, intelligent and kind, he gives me a big hug, every time I run into him with his mother at the supermarket.  His mother told me that instead of watching TV every night, that television viewing is limited in their household.  Instead, they have full conversations and they tell stories…

Now I met the White boy last week on a ride on the MARTA train heading home. Five-years-old and seated with his young mother, he proceeded to read everything on the signs in the train.  “You read very well,” I said.  He quickly extended his hand to shake mine.  His mother and I chatted about school, education, and how well her son reads.  She told me that she lives within walking distance of a public library where they have these great storytelling sessions for children.  As I approached my stop, I said, “So nice talking to you. Now young man, you keep reading! I get off here.”  She replied, “This is my stop, too!  Take my business card,” she said, “I know a lot of historians. Maybe we can all get together some time.”   I thanked her and watched she and her five-year-old son walk home in what is and remains nearly a 100 percent Black neighborhood. And I am also quite familiar with the library that she told me about.  The Black women who conduct those storytelling sessions there at the library have engaged this little White boy.  He not only could read—his pronunciation was perfect…

It should be obvious to anyone reading this that the Black boy and the White boy have parents who spend time with them. These parents have found programs and activities that are beneficial to their children. Now, I’m not making any major pronouncements here about parenting or race relations.  I am simply writing about typical, well-raised children. I am, deliberately avoiding the noise—at least momentarily—from the media that often dominates the narrative.  Not all the news about children and what happens to children is bad news.  And the future is not all gloom and doom. And, for now, I’m going to bet the future on my Black boy and my White boy. Àṣé.

(My previous blog is Frank Wittow’s Legacy…Nevaina’s Dream)

Copyright © 2015 by Leslye Joy Allen.  All Rights Reserved.

This Blog was written by Leslye Joy Allen and is protected by U. S. Copyright Law and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Any partial or total reference to this blog or any total or partial excerpt of this blog must contain a direct reference to this hyperlink: http://leslyejoyallen.com with Leslye Joy Allen clearly and visibly stated as the author. All Rights Reserved.