Historian Janet Cornelius says, “literacy was a two-edged sword” for owners: slaves’ literacy might serve to increase the owners’ control, “but resourceful slaves seized the opportunity to expand their own powers.” Many slave-owners were nervous about educating their slaves, because slaves who learned to read & write gained privacy, leisure time, & mobility. A few wrote their own passes & escaped from slavery. Literate slaves also taught others & served as conduits for information within a slave communication network. Literacy could be the 1st step on the path to freedom.
