The first activity I decided to do on this was the voter literacy test. I felt like it was extremely unintuitive and frustrating. Some of the questions seemed like a question a friend would give you to say “gotcha” like “Spell backward, forwards” or “Draw a triangle with a blackened circle that overlaps only its left corner”. the fact that you only have 10 minutes to complete these tests only adds to the ridiculousness of these tests.
The article “With COVID-19, The African-American Literacy Crisis Will Get Much Worse” seeks to bring awareness of the growing literacy issues that affect African-Americans. The author is listing a number of problems in the school system that will become more of a problem with the rise of Covid-19. For example, it is noted in the reading how during the pandemic, most education institutions had to switch to online or distance learning. The African-American community is especially affected by this change because of the “lack of connectivity”. This could lead to peoples not getting the proper education needed compared to their peers who have better access to equipment suited for distance learning. I did know of a few classmates during the beginning of the pandemic who were worried about continuing the semester at home. They told how they had poor internet connection that made would make it difficult for them go online to access the material. I am not sure how they dealt with the situation, but I could see the anxiety and stress the situation was causing them.
WE can establish more equality for African-American communities in the US. in NY, there are lots of communities that do not have proper access to libraries and access to the internet. I think another great solution is for teachers to be better role-models for their students and provide a more engaging curriculum that students can connect to. We have some of the brightest kids that are being let down by educational system and even to an extent our own parents. We should be actively engaged in providing funds and support to communities that have been historically forgotten by the U.S.
