Numerous events have occurred, and several documents have came to life to guarantee freedom from slavery and educational equality for African-Americans. Some include the 13th Amendment, which makes the practice of slavery illegal in US, the Freedmen's Bureau, the first welfare agency, and the crucial Supreme Court decision, which ended racial segregation in public education. Nevertheless, it took a century of work and struggle by various people, institutions, and government leaders to carry forward the hope of freedom and equality to everyone in the fields of education and countless more. Education, the most important thing in life, acts as the key to a person's future. Education leads to knowledge, and knowledge leads to power. It teaches humans how to prosper and make good decisions. With a good education, people hold the ability to achieve all types of goals, and more doors will open for them. African-Americans held every right to obtain this basic human right. Yet, racist whites restricted the progression of education for blacks, causing them to struggle 100's of years for their rights of free and equal education. Education for slaves and African-Americans was rare prior to the 13th Amendment. Masters preferred to keep their slaves as unknowing as possible in fear that the slaves would revolt and challenge the entire system of slavery. However, many slaves, eager for knowledge, were ready to take whatever instruction they could find in any way it might be offered .Sadly, even those who wanted to learn to read or write often lost their interest for knowledge as they grew aware of the realities of the world in which they lived in.Schools for slaves started at midnight with minimal light and no windows. Schools were often run by free blacks. The punishments for seeking education as a slave were harsh, but the punishments for educating slaves were even harsher. For example, a person in North Carolina received at least 29 lashes, a fine of 200 dollars or more, and possibly prison time. In 1863, during the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln wrote and delivered the Emancipation Proclamation and with it, made the first steps towards educational equality. This document freed slaves only in "rebel  states. Sadly, by the time of emancipation, only 150,000 of the 4 million freed slaves knew how to read or write. The government now faced the challenge of educating the newly freed African-Americans. Many organizations stepped in to help with the efforts. Union Army officers, northern missionaries, abolitionists, and repres