Numeracy Strategies for African American Students: Successful Partnerships‪.‬

The improving literacy indicators for African Americans in the last century are impressive. In spite of the pre-Civil War laws that banned people from teaching African Americans to read, the illiteracy rate for African Americans declined from 80 percent to 6 percent during the last century (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 1993). A more recent NCES report indicates further evidence of the change in literacy rates. Between 1991 and 1999, the rate of in-home reading increased to 71 percent, the rate of storytelling increased to 45 percent, and the rate of library visitations increased to 35 percent (NCES, 2003). These accomplishments were primarily the results of the push for literacy by African American parents (Belt-Beyan, 2004). Formerly, literacy was considered the basic ability to read and write. Now, literacy is defined as "an individual's ability to read, write, speak in English, compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job, in the family of the individual and in society" (Workforce Investment Act, 1998, p. 127). With this broader definition, mathematical literacy, or numeracy, can be and is considered essential for everyday living. In fact, civil rights leader Robert Parris Moses has argued that mathematical literacy represents the "new" civil right, analogous to reading in an earlier era (Moses & Cobb, 2001). Consequently, African American parents must secure and improve both literacy and numeracy for their children.