Twenty-four-year-old streamer Kai Cenat is known for his gaming and comedic livestreams. Earlier this year, he turned over a new leaf: book streaming. Citing his desire to express himself better, Cenat goes live to read aloud for 20 minutes every day, and documents his journey. Some have ridiculed him for mispronouncing certain words, but at a time when literacy rates in the US are declining, Cenat’s reading reminds us of the ways enslaved people fought for the very right to read.
After Nat Turner’s 1831 rebellion, southern states passed anti-literacy laws to keep enslaved folks illiterate because of the growing fear that “an educated enslaved person was a dangerous person.” The same year, Virginia made it illegal to host meetings that taught Black people to read or write.
In Mississippi, Lilly Ann Granderson risked her life to secretly educate enslaved people once the sun went down, right under the noses of enslavers. An 1833 Alabama law made teaching any enslaved or free person of color to spell, read, or write punishable by a fine of $250 (approximately $7,600 today).
Our people have fought too hard for the right to read and write. We can’t afford to let it slip away. Our literacy directly affects our children’s futures.
How can we build a beautiful, liberated Black world without people who love to read and write? We can’t.