Hidden Lessons

“Negative status for Black American females … need to be examined for greater understanding. (page 41)” Many times we take in the negative experiences of our life and think nothing more of it. We often times view it as just another mishap in our lives, because we ultimately expect it to happen. We never think about the effect that it actually has on us. As Lillie Gayle Smith says in her essay, “Unearthing Hidden Literacy: Seven Lessons I Learned in a Cotton Field,” she never really thought about her actual life experiences and the positive aspects of it until it was really brought to her attention in a Black Women’s Literacy Class. Just as Smith only stated her past experiences when it was used for boasting, we do the same thing. She did not see the positive connection between life and the cotton field. This is not all her fault though. Many African Americans are unsure of what should and should not be seen as positive so they automatically assume that what is seen as negative in one place is seen as negative all the way around. As an individual, we have to think about all aspects of a situation, whether it be negative or positive, and how we can use them as lessons in our everyday life.