Food for thought. Here was the law of the land with regards to Black Folks.
NOTE: People of Color did not go through this. Only Black Folks; also known as African Americans.
There was an Anti-literacy law against Black folks learning to read and write. NOT PEOPLE OF COLOR. BLACK FOLKS. Go figure. Click on the red-underlined link below to read more.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-literacy_laws_in_the_United_States
For starters, let us begin here. Click on the underlined sentence here to learn more