O'Bryan, Ann2016-06-012016-06-012016-05-17Reading and Writing from Below: Exploring the Margins of Modernity, edited by Ann-Catrine Edlund, Anna Kuismin, and T.G. Ashplant.978-91-88466-88-42000-0405urn:nbn:umu:diva-120586oai:DIVA.org:umu-120586https://hdl.handle.net/1805/9733Article is included in an edited volume based on papers presented at a conference held at the Finnish Literature Society and the University of Helsinki, August 20-22, 2014.The Beech Settlement in central Indiana was one of several communities of African Americans that flourished in the nineteenth century. This settlement was unique in that its settlers, led by a core of highly literate individuals, organized a circulating library. The circulation records and meeting minutes of the Board of Directors survive, as well as a list of some of the books that were held in the library. This article examines the surviving documents and other primary materials to portray a community of readers, writers, orators, and educators, who, although denied legal access to education until their migration, had learned to read and write, and had developed the skills to create a thriving community of readers.enNineteenth-Century African Americans, library history, reading communities, African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) ChurchAfrican Americans -- 19th centuryBooks and reading -- United States -- 19th centuryAfrican Methodist Episcopal ChurchLibraries -- History -- 19th centuryArticle