Only four out of the entire Colored people church can read.  Calphurnia and her son being two of them.  They learned how to read English from some random book they happened to get.  They then would teach their children out of some book.  I thought it amazing that no one else who was colored could read.  I know they don't have the oppportunity or time, but I guess I assumed they would learn it on their own.  This gave me a whole other thinking and I can't imagine not being able to read.