Douglass, Margaret Crittenden. Educational laws of Virginia; the personal narrative of Mrs. Margaret Douglass, a southern woman, who was imprisoned for one month in the common jail of Norfolk, under the laws of Virginia, for the crime of teaching free Colored children to read. Boston, J. P. Jewitt & co.; Cleveland, O., Jewett and Worthington, 1854. Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/14019470/.
This is testimony from a literate woman about the power that literacy has on a society/community that is illiterate and fears education being given to the enslaved population. She was also part of a marginalized group, women, who had limited rights in society, and it was her literacy that empowered her, as her testimony in court indicated. What better way to teach about the power of being able to read and write than to be able to share this with our reluctant readers and writers? Moreover, because she was literate and thus empowered, she represented herself at her trial because she was able to read the court documents. The judge reprimanded her for not hiring an attorney and representing herself. Not only does Douglass provide information about literacy in Virginia, but she sheds light on other aspects of slavery: white slaveholders selling Black children, the widespread practice of slaveholders raping enslaved women while their wives turned a blind eye, and elite slaveholders teaching their enslaved population to read and write in secret.
- Mrs. Douglass’s personal narrative details what happened before, during, and after her trial and conviction for teaching free Black children to read and write in Norfolk, Virginia, which had anti-literacy laws as well as anti-assembly laws for all Blacks living in Virginia—free or enslaved. She and her daughter were both charged, but Mrs. Douglass successfully defended her daughter’s actions as those of a child obeying a parent’s wishes and not her own independent actions.
- While Mrs. Douglass states that her personal narrative isn’t an abolitionist document and she actually calls herself a “white supremacist,” an argument can certainly be made that it has the potential to to be viewed as a document that strengthens the abolition cause.
- The document gives a vivid description of the sheriff and deputies coming to her house, where she is teaching a small group of free Black and enslaved children, arresting her and the students, and hauling them all in front of the mayor. She states that the “children were marched out of my house between the sheriff and deputies and they were terrified of what would happen to them.”
In 1854, Margaret Crittenden Douglass was jailed for one month in Norfolk, Virginia, and fined for teaching freed Black children to read scripture in Sunday school. She was an admitted former slaveholder who viewed illiteracy as an impediment to a civilized society, regardless of race. In her personal narrative, she cites the fact that the overwhelming majority of white Virginians, male or female, could read or write. Her narrative provides a window into why white America, during slavery, did not want enslaved people to learn how to read and write.
- In what ways is Mrs. Douglass not your stereotypical antebellum Southern lady?
- Describe how literacy empowers her and provides her with independence. Why is this important?
- Mrs. Douglass’s personal narrative isn’t really personal. What is she unwittingly creating through her narrative?
- How does Mrs. Douglass use literacy as a tool for positive social change throughout the narrative and her trial?
- What impact does media coverage have on the case nationally? Why was reporting on her trial important given the historical time period?
Common Core State Standards
RI.11-12.3: Analyze a complex set of ideas or sequence of events and explain how specific individuals, ideas, or events interact and develop over the course of the text.
- By reading key sections of Mrs. Douglass’s personal narrative, students can piece together what occurs before and after her trial.
RI.11-12.5: Analyze and evaluate the effectiveness of the structure an author uses in his or her exposition or argument, including whether the structure makes points clear, convincing, and engaging.
- Have students read key passages closely for their effectiveness in painting a picture of Norfolk society as this sequence of events unfolds for both free and enslaved Blacks, as well as for the various “classes” of whites who live there.
RI.11-12.6: Determine an author's point of view or purpose in a text in which the rhetoric is particularly effective, analyzing how style and content contribute to the power, persuasiveness or beauty of the text.
- Have students keep a journal of the trial as if they were actually in the courtroom. How effective is Mrs. Douglass’s testimony in convincing each student of her innocence or guilt for teaching children to read and write?
- Have students conduct a mock trial using Virginia case law of the time. Have them research whether they can set a new precedent with Mrs. Douglass’s case. Then have the students prepare opening statements and closing arguments for each side.
- Have students record their own personal narratives as if they had been present during the pivotal events in Mrs. Douglass’s narrative. What are their perceptions?What type of writing genre would these take?
- After reading Mrs. Douglass’s description of the Black children’s fears at being detained and possibly sold for learning to read and write, have some students play the roles of the children, and have some students act as their parents or citizens of the free Black community.
- Create a newspaper account of the events with students as the reporters. There should be opinion editorials both for and against literacy instruction for Black children.
- The discussion of slavery is a volatile subject, so there will be pushback from various communities about this document. It includes some provocative subjects such as rape; children born out of wedlock; and children, as well as adults, being enslaved, bought, and sold. Slavery is not an easy subject to teach but it is the reality of American history. I don’t know if any website should be used to sanitize its impact, however, some educational resources explain enslavement in such a clear, concise, and non-judgmental way that even the most sensitive parents should have limited objections to the modality and content.
Links to resources for approaching those topics
- This is an excellent accessible resource for 5th grade teachers who teach in communities where the issue of slavery is sensitive. It discusses anti-literacy laws and the ways that enslaved people resisted them to learn how to read and write.
- The Harvard Library has more scholarly articles for higher grades on the state of education access for people of color. Scrolling to the bottom of the webpage will give teachers more options.
- Equally important is providing a broad overview of antebellum Virginia in relation to the practices of other southern states when it came to literacy for both enslaved and free Blacks living in the south. It is also important to note the literacy rates of whites.
- Margaret Crittenden Douglass provides a unique perspective on the issue of enslavement and literacy. As a member of a marginalized group, she represents the exception on multiple levels: she is educated, independently supports herself and her dependent child, and she is an activist—whether she admits or not. A deeper dive into her life is an outstanding way of teaching civic empowerment and engagement to our students.
- It is important to provide a window into antebellum Virginia everyday life for enslaved and free Blacks, as well as their interactions with various classes of whites, to understand the local complexity of the literacy issue in 1854 Norfolk, Virginia.