13 Search results for "standard american english"

$The recent college admissions scandal is just a fraction of the rigged American Education System$
The recent college admissions scandal is just a fraction of the rigged American Education System
by Daniel Johnson Regarding the abject brutality of the way the criminal justice system discards Black bodies and lives, writer Kirsten West Savali describes the practice in this way, reframing the common narrative that the criminal justice system is merely broken: “The system is not broken, it is functioning exactly as intended.” There is little […]
Understanding the ‘cultural not remedial’ aspect of Black Vernacular English
“Why don’t you hand in papers in Ebonics since that is how you talk?” I remember someone asking me this in my early days of grad school. I then explained that, as a student, it was my job to perform particular scholastic duties – including showing a mastery of the traditional APA, MLA, and Chicago […]
“I’m is talking right”: How the stigma around Black language holds us back from liberation
By Jae Nichelle There has been a language division among Black Americans for decades: African American Vernacular English (AAVE) vs. Standard American English (SAE). AAVE is a dialect used by Black people in social settings that pervades hip-hop culture, while SAE is the dialect generally taught in schools. Most people across racial lines do not […]
Our reactions to Black men embracing in public highlight Black masculinity’s dehumanizing expectations
by Daniel Johnson The topic of masculinity, what it is and how it is expressed in both immediate and popular culture, is one that always seems to be spurred on or perhaps made more visible by conversations which happen on social media, usually centering around how men showing each other affection seems to be taboo. […]
The anti-Black history behind anxiety in our community, and 3 ways to tackle it
By Jay Connor This summer, rapper Logic released his highly-anticipated third album, Everybody, to the delight of fans, cash registers, and Def Jam alike. Bolstered by its buoyant lead single “Black Superman”, Everybody elbowed Chris Stapleton’s From A Room: Volume 1 the hell out the way to debut at No. 1 in the country, with […]
Black men, we need to acknowledge that we are the problem. Let’s talk toxic masculinity.
By Shekinah Mondoua I cannot pinpoint the exact moment I began to question the masculinity of African-American men as toxic. At one point I found myself constantly attempting to live up to the standards presumed from my Black male counterparts. Acceptance from my Black male friends was something that I sought out more than accepting […]
Poor Kids Are Starving for Words
The following piece is from the Atlantic. It was written by Jessica Lahey. By: Jessica Lahey “Education,” Horace Mann declared in 1848, “is a great equalizer of the conditions of men, the balance wheel of the social machinery.” But increasingly, the condition of American children—and even their eventual role in society—is determined well before […]
Reading Instruction for the Black Underachieving Student
The following post was written by Frank Simpkins, author of “The Unfinished Business of the Civil Rights Movement: Failure of America’s Public Schools to Properly Educate its African American Student Populations. Simpkins is co-author of “Between Rhetoric and Reality.” By: Frank Simpkins An overriding theoretical, philosophical and political consideration of the cross-cultural approach to education […]
Conversations We Are Not Having – A Black Youth Project Economic Justice Series: A Social Movement, Not Self-Improvement
By: William Darity Jr. It is now standard fare to hear that black economic progress requires young people in particular to alter their attitudes and behaviors. They repeatedly are told, in effect, “to pull up their pants”, to take financial literacy classes, to be more punctual, to speak “proper” English, and to be more polite or courteous. The […]
Hooked on Ebonics: the controversy that swirls around this “language”
I was shocked to recently learn about the Oakland, California school board’s 1996 decision to classify Ebonics as the official language of its African American students. At the mere age of four, I was ignorant to the political and social controversy this decision stirred up nationwide. Now, at 19, I can understand the problematic implications […]
A Black Womyn's Desire for a White Man
A Black womyn grows up developing a hatred for the language accessed by the majority of Black men. I’ve heard about many occasions where the Black man has no chance with a womyn of certain standards using his familiar dialect. They know the call-outs very well; “ay lil mama” separates the scrubs from the eligible. […]
Why I Hate Being Called Articulate
In my 21 years of existence I’ve been called almost every name under the sun. Some of the names were warranted, others are too foul to even mention in this blog post. Nevertheless, I always clung to what my Mom told me as a child: “it’s not what they call you, but what you respond […]