To Be Black, Female, and Literate: A Personal Journey in Education and Alienation (Pt. 2)

In this section, Leonie C.R. Smith traces her literary experience upon moving to the United States. In 1987, she moved to New York and quickly realized that not only were there cultural but academic changes that she would have to adapt to. Her first struggle came when she failed a seventh grade reading test and was placed in a lower academic standing class. She soon learned that textbook answers were valued over her usual explanations in essay form. Another struggle she faced was culture. Many of the children made fun of her accent as well as her clothes. She began to see that name brand clothing was pereferred and that she was an immediate outsider. Smith was constantly teased and callled a geek because of her higher academic standing than her peers. Yet and still, she prevailed through adversity. She worked out an agreeement with the assistant principal and was able to return to her original homeroom. She ignored the teasing and was mature enough to understand that she was doing good and was helping to better herself and her future. She managed to graduate sixth in her entire class and proved that although she was different she was intelligent as well. Her Antiguan upbringing taught her that she need not to give up but to keep going as there was a bigger task that lay ahead and that task was her literacy and education.

The essay was very informative. I am sure that we have all at one time or another felt that we were an outsider or was wronged in some sort of way. Leonie C.R. Smith had many barriers in front of her. She was black, an immigrant, and she was a woman. Instead of making excuses, she decided to act and to make a way out of no way. She managed to get back into her class and later an honor's class. She is a true inspiration and has proven that no matter what the case, anything is possible. Just because you are a black woman does not mean that you have to accept that stereotype. You are as intelligent and educated as you make yourself. Sometimes if you want change, you have to grab it and change it yourself. Her literacy and education were worth the struggle and the fight. She is living proof that the only person that can hold you back is yourself.