By Vivian Shipe
KNOXVILLE, TN — Its an epidemic of mammoth portions that can no longer be ignored. Nationally, Illiteracy rates among black and brown children are sitting at 59 percent as these future leaders are not and have not for many years , been reading at grade level.
In Knoxville, as schools in marginalized communities receive failing grades from the state of Tennessee, a war cry has risen across the land as these numbers are unacceptable and a movement has begun to correct the problem by teaching the children HOW to read as the current accepted ways are just not working.
In May of 2022, when it was announced that 1600 third graders not reading at grade level would possibly be retained in Knox County, Pastor Ashauna Cleveland stepped forward and presented a radical vision, one that would require an army from all walks of life. Her theory, you don’t have to be a teacher to teach a child to read , led to an army of experienced generals coming together to create Uncle Fred’s Army.
The mission: improvement of literacy skills to ensure all children in Knox County would become powerful readers, writers and thinkers. The focus is to empower family and community support outside of school by using tutors and community spaces.
To do this the generals are moving Illiteracy out of the shadows and onto the front burners, calling out the inefficiency of the current way reading is taught, calling out the fact that teachers are not taught how the brain works and one size does not fit all, calling out discipline inequities including expulsion, for black and brown children as young as pre-school, and calling out the need to fight for children on all levels, especially as artificial intelligence begins to make strongholds in the technological world.
Coming from a premise that reading is a civil right, the project makes the assertion that children must have choices, options, and support. Indeed the resounding theme heard during the packed information meeting was, we are born equal, but we don’t stay equal.
The idea for the name is based on the stories of Frederick Douglas who as a slave learned to read and begin to teach others to do the same.
The cry from the generals, all of whom are educators and strong social justice warriors, was that we don’t have five or ten years to waste as prisons are planned and built, based on the third grade literacy rates. They see this as a right now war and are calling for everyone to hear the rallying cry and be bold and courageous enough to step up and turn the tides of prison pipelines, and generational curses by making reading a priority. In preparation, to train this army, boot camp training sessions will begin soon. Those interested can register through the QR code provided or can get more information by calling 865. 282 4759 or by email: unclefredsarmy@gmail.com.
The rallying cry are the words of Frederick Douglas, “Reading is Freedom.”
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