"I believe unconditionally in the ability of people to respond when they are told the truth. We need to be taught to study rather than believe, to inquire rather than to affirm."
Septima Poinsette Clark is yet another example of a woman that deserves more credit in history books than she has been provided. In case you don't know her story, Poinsette Clark was an American educator and civil rights activist, who is often referred to as the Grandmother of the American Civil Rights Movement. She created literacy and citizenship schools, and paved the way for the engagement of the Civil Rights Movement.
Born during reconstruction and the daughter of a former slave, Poinsette Clark believed that "knowledge could empower marginalized groups in ways that formal equality couldn't." After graduating high school, Clark's family did not have enough money for college, so she began work as a school teacher. After school, she would spend hours teaching illiterate adults how to read at night.
In response to legislation in Southern states which required literacy in order to vote, Poinsette Clark began citizenship schools and participated in the Highlander Literacy Courses. With these literacy classes, individuals learned how to read within a week. The program spread to so many states that it was transferred to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1961. The citizenship schools trained 10,000 teachers, and taught more than 25,000 citizens.
Poinsette Clark made such an impact on civil rights that, when Martin Luther King received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1965, he insisted that she accompany him to the ceremony in Sweden. If you would like to learn more about her, Katherine Charron told her story last year in a biography entitled Freedom's Teacher: The Life of Septima Poinsette Clark.
Born during reconstruction and the daughter of a former slave, Poinsette Clark believed that "knowledge could empower marginalized groups in ways that formal equality couldn't." After graduating high school, Clark's family did not have enough money for college, so she began work as a school teacher. After school, she would spend hours teaching illiterate adults how to read at night.
In response to legislation in Southern states which required literacy in order to vote, Poinsette Clark began citizenship schools and participated in the Highlander Literacy Courses. With these literacy classes, individuals learned how to read within a week. The program spread to so many states that it was transferred to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1961. The citizenship schools trained 10,000 teachers, and taught more than 25,000 citizens.
Poinsette Clark made such an impact on civil rights that, when Martin Luther King received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1965, he insisted that she accompany him to the ceremony in Sweden. If you would like to learn more about her, Katherine Charron told her story last year in a biography entitled Freedom's Teacher: The Life of Septima Poinsette Clark.
"I have a great belief in the fact that whenever there is chaos, it creates wonderful thinking. I consider chaos a gift"
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