Throughout history, the Black woman was not given the exact education as her white counterparts. Her educational values were seen as different. The only means of retaining knowledge for Black women, by historical reference, was by passing things down orally. It was hard to obtain educational rights because there were laws that forbade slaves from learning. There were also other reasons women could not get educated. Either they lived too far away from schools or they were poor.
There were schools that eventually opened for Black women but they were not on the same level as schools for white women. Black women were subjected to belittling education that was designed to demean their status as inferior to others. The few Black women who did continue education to the college level, after graduating, they would become teachers. This occupation would lead to them getting married and having children rather than a career to build on. Another issue was those Black women who did not want to bother with education. They would rather be servants of whites, conforming to their society. At the time after the Civil War, there were some white women who helped Black women gain education. The Black women who took advantage of this idea were seen as the carriers of the Black race. This idea was seen as the Black woman sacrificing her wellbeing for that of the entire race. Thus, the defining of the strong Black woman is born. But now the tables have turned because the Black woman is seen as the symbol of the one needing the support.
As the Black woman today realizes her needs are not being met, she loses interest in her educational values and focuses on other ideas. This is one reason why there are so many teen pregnancies in the Black community of women. Perhaps one day, the Black woman will be equally seen as a person of literacy and a change in her educational needs will be met.
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