“Each One, Teach One”

Septima Poinsette Clark (1898–1987) is regarded as “the grandmother” of the Civil Rights Movement. Clark began teaching at sixteen and eventually grew to become one of the movement’s masterminds. One of Clark’s attributes which marks her as an educational guru is the fact that she frequently employed proverbs and proverbial expressions as she worked diligently behind the scenes teaching literacy to the poor and disenfranchised, so they would be able to register to vote and take part in political decision-making processes that impacted their lives. Clark’s autobiographies, interviews, and other biographical materials illustrate that proverbial language helped Clark to connect to the important people she taught. Proverbial language also helped Clark to communicate important values, beliefs, and pedagogical philosophy. The adult literacy and civics education programs that Clark developed fueled the voting registration drives of several important organizations including, Highlander Folk School (HFC), and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC).