“Mr. Auld found out what was going on, and at once forbade Mrs. Auld to instruct me further, telling her. Among other things, that it was unlawful, as well as unsafe, to teach a slave to read…If you teach a nigger how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave. He would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his master.”

According to Frederick Douglass the quote stated above was considered “a special revelation”. I consider this quote to be the highlight of the story. Being that educations is reputed to be very fundamental and powerful. There is fear that if the inferior gains this experience there would be lack of obedience to the white man. Mr. Auld says that it is unsafe for the “nigger” to know how to read, because he was aware that if they gained that experience there would no longer be any inferiority. An education helps to empower one, it helps to make one believe that they have achieved a lot and they know a lot. The feeling one gets after knowing something is a confident feeling. Whites portrayed slaves as less intelligent, and more barbaric. Allowing slaves to get an education would have only revealed that this theory was a lie.

This passage makes me value education more, it also helps to motivate me. Frederick Douglas was a determined man. People were getting killed for simply learning their ABC’s, but Douglass was able to write an entire passage.As an African American young lady, I am more empowered by this text; because it proves to me what my capabilities are and how much an education can do for me.

This passage simply enhances my understanding about slavery in America, it also helps make me aware that although we might have overcome slavery. However reducing the opportunities for blacks to gain an education is still well alive in our society. A contemporary strategy of trying to stop blacks from gaining an education include the school to prison pipeline strategy, as well as lack of resources for students to learn from. School to prison pipeline discourages students, it helps to put fear in the hearts of the young underprivileged students. This program is implemented in most school that are in low income communities. Furthermore, many of these low income areas are predominantly African American, and Hispanics. I believe that there might still be an objection that African American are to become superior. Although it is easier today to gain an education than it was, there are still many obstacles that we have to face to get this opportunity.