Unforgettable Miss Bessie by Carl T. Rowan

Unforgettable Miss Bessie by Carl T. Rowan

Carl T. Rowan

 This was such a beautiful story. So many people across the world has had teachers who don’t care enough. When you have a teacher that goes above and beyond to make sure that your future is bright, that is a true treasure. 

During the “Jim Crow” era, people did not want the education of black people. It takes an amazing person to by-pass the misfortunes of her own life had and press upon disadvantaged black youngsters whose parents were on the poverty line, to put in the extra work and become someone. Many black youths at that time especially looked at their circumstances and saw the misfortune that is likely to be their own path. 

Miss Bessie was a passionate, strict and brilliant woman who pressed upon her students paying attention to the world around them. White persons used education and lack of knowledge to their advantage to keep minorities oppressed and slaves to the life that they want them to live. Knowing the government systems and how elections work, and who is in power and how they are running the country. These are things that are very important to know. If black people specifically cannot read or write then that makes it even more hard for them to have the adequacy to fight for their rights. The speaker was apart of a class that was taught by a phenomenal woman whom inspired him to become a journalist. In fact, she inspired all her students as many of them became doctors, professors, dentist and many more. She inspired young black men and women to become so much more and be so much more than the status at which they grew up with.  

Though racism is not as bad now as it was then, it is a GINORMOUS battle that we still fight today. We have so much more than what we were afforded in the 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and even the 90’s.