April 7, 1831: Virginia Literacy Ban Enacted

Following the publication of David Walker’s Appeal in 1829 and numerous uprisings of the enslaved, states across the South began to pass or amend existing anti-literacy laws to prevent future insurrections and thwart the struggle for Black education.

On April 7, 1831, the Virginia General Assembly revised its laws governing slavery in what was called “An Act to amend the act concerning slaves, free negroes and mulattoes.” As Encyclopedia Virginia describes, the amended law decreed that “all meetings of free negroes or mulattoes, at any school house, church, meeting-house or other place for teaching them reading or writing, either in the day or night, under whatsoever pretext, shall be considered as an unlawful assembly.”

Source: Encyclopedia Virginia

Paige Duggins-Clay writes in the article “Bans on Black Literature and Learning are Nothing New – State Lawmakers Must Reject Calls to Reinstate Antebellum-era Policies,”

Between 1800 and 1835, the majority of southern states enacted legislation that made it a crime to teach enslaved individuals to read and write. These restrictions were necessary for both practical and ideological purposes: illiterate, enslaved African Americans were unable to read or write the documentation necessary for Black people to move around the slave slates. And their illiteracy was a dead giveaway in the free world if they attempted to run away. Further, it was imperative for the integrity of the slaving institution that enslaved African Americans did not have opportunities to access news of abolition efforts and other revolutionary rhetoric from the North.

Source: Sutori/Kailyn Dunlap

As we well know, these numerous anti-literacy laws and white supremacist attempts to prevent the liberation of the enslaved were not successful. In fact, just months after these laws were enacted, Nathaniel “Nat” Turner led a rebellion in August 1831 that shook the state of Virginia to its core.

Read the full text of the 1831 Virginia literacy ban here.