"Especially the Southern states had tried to control slaves and free people of colour by denying them education. They knew the power of writing and reading and feared literate slaves could use these new means of communication that would make it easier to plan revolts and escapes. Also allowing people of colour to write and read would make it harder to ‘justify’ slavery or treating them as inferior, since one of the arguments to do so was that these people would be unable to write and read, because they were not smart enough. Finally, literacy gives way to expanding knowledge, spreading new ideas, taking part of society in which writing was essential with regard to recording a new-born or marriage, raising literate children with a brighter future, developing critical thinking and so much more. An important example of critical thinking is that black people got to read the bible themselves and found that it even opposes slavery ‘”From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth (…)” (Acts) "
Make sure you remember this part of the Reader!