Literacy and Justice for All: Reading as a Tool for Political Participation
Addressing the American Library Association in 2005, then-senator Barack Obama said, “Literacy is the most basic currency of the knowledge economy we’re living in today.” In 2024, his words ring truer than ever. The ability to read empowers each and every citizen to go to the polls and cast ballots for their futures, making illiteracy in the U.S. today synonymous with social exclusion and vulnerability.
Reading as an American Responsibility
What does it mean to be an informed voter? Firstly, an informed voter is knowledgeable about the issues at stake in a given election, the candidates running and their platforms, as well as what the voting process itself entails. The process of gathering this information is no longer as simple as reading to learn. Distinguishing between credible sources and misinformation is a task that has regrettably and irreversibly become the sole responsibility of the individual citizen, as opposed to public figures and officials. It is not always an easy distinction to make, even for the most educated and politically active of Americans. But it is more often utterly impossible for those lacking foundational reading and writing skills.
More broadly, being an informed voter also means being able to think critically, and make educated choices about and between said issues, candidates, policies, and platforms. Once a voter accesses a credible source, like an official policy proposal or fact-checked news article, the next hurdle is to unpack the often complex language that it contains. Voters who can interpret the nuances of a policy document are better able to assess its impact on their lives and communities, and can therefore vote in their own best interest, instead of through blind loyalty to a candidate’s affiliated party.
The Domination of English Literacy
The United States prides itself on being a cultural melting pot; a country made up of people from all corners of the world. Unfortunately, however, there are several barriers in place that make it difficult for many immigrant groups to be politically active. My mother, after having lived in New York for over 20 years, only just became a citizen and voted for the first time this November. But moreover, U.S. voting laws do not require all states to make accommodations for voters whose second language is English. While English happens to be my mother’s first language, roughly 68 million people speak a language other than English at home—a figure that was a mere 23 million in 1980. Having sufficient reading and writing skills in English is therefore required to be an informed American voter. Multilingual literacy programs and resources are critical in raising literacy rates amongst English Second Language (ESL) voters and ensuring all voices are heard—regardless of what language they’re spoken in.
As Americans emerge from the frenzy of the 2024 presidential election, one of the biggest takeaways I’ve heard from conversations is just how much of a difference political participation from even the smallest communities across the country can make. Ultimately, literacy is more than just a skill. It is a tool that, as it stands, gives educated and more affluent Americans a political advantage over marginalized communities that lack the necessary resources to have an equal shot at making a difference in electoral outcomes. At Storyshares, we are working to ensure that all older striving readers, many of whom are voting age, have that equal shot, and can read for the change they want to see.
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