The vast majority could neither read nor write nor did they have access to any real education. There certainly knew the basics of the law but most would have had trouble picking up any nuances in the law. They didn't have the education to learn it. A relative handful of educated people aren't going to change that. People who weren't educated (IOW the vast majority of slaves) would have problems following the arguments as they wouldn't have the education to do so. In short education helps and you don't become educated by osmosis.
The Poor Whites of the South were poorly educated and superstitious as a rule and the slaves were even more so. This was the real world not some PC version of it. Hampering a person's education is one of the key ways to make it easier for you to oppress them and the slave lords of the South knew this very well.
Your notion of education does not disqualify my counterargument.
The ability to over hear, read and pass on information was not limited to a fraction of enslaved people. The degree with which enslaved people had the ability to read and write was entirely based upon the desires of those who enslaved them.
Enslaved people moved, travelled and actively undermined the system they were in. They were not passive reciepients and did indeed the reality.
Just because your view of black people from the South in that era comes from your limited understanding of history doesn't mean it's "PC".
Harriet Tubman leading a group of scouts had various groups and individuals throughout the river systems and swamps of the Combahee to provide information to the Union Army before the attack.
https://books.google.com/books?id=m...KHdK_DfU4ChDoATAHegQIARAB#v=onepage&q&f=false
Hell look into the history of black sailors and the laws that barred them because they were communicating and update enslaved black people.
Look into the transmission of the Haitian Liberation and the inspiration for many revolts elsewhere in rural South.
There are dozens and dozens of references found in black American historical works, your ignorance of this however is what I am correcting.
Get out of your high school text books and white centered perspective of history. It has not use in talking about non-white peoples.