Going Against the Grain

       O, ye daughters of Africa, awake! Awake! Arise! From the very first sentence the reading immediately establishes its purpose of empowering black women. Black women once held back by slavery and were not able to acquire their ultimate level of self sufficiency in regards to literacy. Despite their historical past of being degraded and facing discrimination due to their color and gender, black women have fought to go against the grain. Although, times have changed and have grown from a society of illiterate colored woman to one of well educated successful individuals. These woman were beaten down but were still able to recognize that literacy was a key component to success. The misconceptions identified in the declaration of independence identified the insufficiencies of the principles America was built on. From the hypocrisy of Thomas Jefferson to the efforts to Benjamin Franklin the historical reference play a large part of how black women today have conquered literacy. It leads back to women before Harriet Tubman who fought to end slavery to Terry Prince who fought for her rights before the Supreme Court. It’s due to all these historical events that black women who were mothers, daughters, and storytellers into the world of being conscious thinking women who are capable of defying odd, essentially going against the grain.