Post 8

In "Sponsors of Literacy" Brandt defines literary sponsors as "powerful figures who were usually richer, more knowledgeable, and more entrenched than the sponsored". She also states that the sponsor and sponsored enter a mutual relationship where each can benefit from the other once the sponsored becomes a success. One person can have multiple sponsors. Sponsors can include any influential person in the sponsored life and can include people they have read about. 


Malcolm X entered prison in 1946 practically illiterate and barely able to write. In prison he met an inmate named Bimbi. Malcolm X learned the power that knowledge can command from Bimbi and was Malcolm X's motivation to educate himself. One of Malcolm X's sponsors of literacy was Mr. Muhammad. Muhammad connected with Malcolm X by noting how history had been "whitened"; meaning the history of the black man had been skipped over in history books written by white men. It was Muhammad who prompted Malcolm X to educate himself as thoroughly as possible concerning black history. Other sponsors that affected Malcolm X and the knowledge he received concerning black history and world history include Will Durant, H.G. Wells, W.E.B Du Bois, Carter G. Woodson, J.A. Rogers, and Fredrick Olm. He also learned from Gregor Mendel that the first man to walk the earth was black. One of Malcolm X's favorite subjects became slavery; the man's most monstrous crime. Malcolm X's most influential sponsors were determined by socioeconomic conditions based on his race and class because he shared common interests and could make the most connection with them. Some of Malcolm X's literacy sponsors constrained his literacy acquisition by defining his point of view. Malcolm X picked books based on what he wanted to read about. This was a limiting factor because it narrowed the variety of books he read. He didn't want to hear about white people doing something non-oppressive, so he didn't read about it. Although, nobody could deny the slavery, imperialism, and oppression white nations have thrown upon non-white nations or the anger and hate connected to these abusive times in history.