Juneteenth reminds us of Black Americans’ long struggle for education following end of slavery

Enslaved people were not just enslaved physically, but mentally as well. as widespread laws in the South barred enslaved people from receiving an education.

By: Rodney Coates, Miami University, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: June 16, 2026

Words: 1,156

Last Updated: 1 month, 1 week ago

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By Rodney Coates, Miami University

The abolitionist and writer Frederick Douglass is known for many things, but perhaps among the most significant is his views on education’s relationship to slavery. Douglass himself was born into slavery in Maryland in 1818.

Douglass described in his 1845 autobiography how one of his enslavers, Mrs. Auld, began teaching him to read when he was a child. Mrs. Auld’s husband ordered her to stop giving Douglass …

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