Education before the civil war for black people was quite literally non-existence. The only education that was received was education that was needed for forced labor. Most people believed that education for black people would lead to disconnect and rebellious. according to the census of 1850, 58,558 African Americans, representing 27.5 per cent of the population, lived in Texas. Fewer than 1 percent, or 397, were free, of which 217 were believed to be literate, 20 were in school, and 58 were illiterate adults. There are no actual statistics available on the 58,151 enslaved African Americans. Activist Fredrick Douglas taught himself to read and write at a young age . His enslavers wife began teaching him ad when her husband found out , he forbade him of becoming literate. He tried to teach others around him to read and write as best as he could, and he later i life wrote his own book. If enslaved people ever had an education, it was always self taught.
