Unearthing Hidden Literacy: Seven Lessons I Learned in a Cotton Field

By: Lillie Gayle Smith
I strongly relate to Lillie Smith’s testimony on how she valued literacy outside of the classroom. Growing up, my parents taught me to be very appreciative. Both of my parents were born in Arkansas and suffered from living in the racist south. My parents relate to Smith because they picked cotton for their families. My mother often describes the horrors of being as young as 5 picking cotton. She described the intense summer heat and how picking the cotton would hurt her hands. She also has a strong fear of snakes which relates to her experiences of picking cotton on her family’s farm. In one instance, she describes how my grandfather had to kill this enormous snake right in front of her. This truly traumatized her. My father picked cotton at a very young age, which he often relates to his strong work ethic. I related my parent’s experiences to Smith’s essay. She notes that picking cotton was something that she never discussed when she says “[it] was something I wanted to forget, not extrapolate lessons from (37).” Initially, she felt that those particular memories were painful and she didn’t learn anything from the experiences. Later, she realizes that picking cotton benefitted her. She notes, “Unearthing memories of picking cotton and extrapolating lessons from the experience constitute two highlights of my graduate studies because the journey of discovery has led me to a deeper appreciation and understanding of past experiences and present perspectives (46).” She believes that although picking cotton represented a negative time in her life, she gained a sense of strength. This strength led her to understand the value of being a strong, Black woman. A majority of her essay discusses this class that she took entitled, “Black Women’s Literacy.”In this class, she felt comfortable in expanding her knowledge of the empowerment of Black Women’s literacy. She noted that in order to heighten Black women and their literacy, they must feel a sense of comfort and respect from their professors or teachers. Smith felt that her professor, “respected and validated knowledge acquired beyond the walls of the academy (38).” Because she felt respected from her professor, she enjoyed the class and learned more knowledge about uplifting Black women.
As her essay progresses, she relates literacy to her experiences picking cotton. She notes that these experiences led her to possess a good education. Smith says, “..because slave women were exploited, they developed greater independence and self-reliance than their nonslave counterparts (41).”She relates picking cotton to exploitation, thus she reveals her personal strengths. Smith talks about the values that she learned from her childhood. The money that she earned picking cotton was used to buy school supplies and clothing. She discussed how she would save this money and put it in a bank. She learned to appreciate the value of hard work and dedication. My parents’ experiences parallel to Smith. Because they learned to appreciate working hard, I also value hard work and dedication. I have a very strong work ethic and I am very appreciative. I believe that literacy can be strongly related to experiences that are not connected to education.

-Lauren Tripplett