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By Dr. Pamela D. Reed
Oct 9, 2007, 20:20
|
Dr. Pamela D. Reed is a diversity consultant and assistant
professor of English and African-American literature at |
Not
since the
The
good news here is that this is a rare and profound teaching moment, and it
should be treated as such. It is clear that ignorance abounds in this country
with regard to African-American language, and this unfortunate incident speaks
to the need for greater education and understanding in this area. To begin
with, it must be made clear that Ebonics and slang are not one and the same.
Words like “hoodrat,” “gank,” “bling,” and
much of the list in the “Handbook” are not Ebonics, but slang words
promulgated in urban
American
Ebonics is a contact language that resulted from the mingling of
non-English-speaking, displaced and enslaved Africans with English speakers.
Hence, its lexicon is English, but many of its grammatical structures and its
syntax, according to some linguists, closely resemble those found in West
African languages. This is not unlike the practice of African-descended persons
melding traditional African religions, whose practice were forbidden, with
Catholicism, creating the widely practiced Santeria.
At any
rate, Ebonics is the primary language spoken by many African-Americans,
particularly those lacking formal schooling. Still, there are even countless
middle class African-Americans (this writer included) who are fully capable of
speaking formal English — and who do so on a regular basis except on
those occasions, in relaxed, informal settings among family and/or friends,
when Ebonics is sometimes spoken. This phenomenon, which is almost
second-nature, is called code-switching, and it is very common among people who
speak more than one language. It is also worth noting that Ebonics is a
graduate level course offered, and completed by this writer, in the doctoral
African-American Studies program at
What is
not disputed, though, is the fact that the vast majority of African-Americans,
to varying degrees, speak in a tongue that is all their own — and they
should not be demonized or ridiculed because of this. After all, lest we
forget, African-Americans are the only immigrants in this country who were
forcibly stripped of their mother tongue. Thus, many view this retention of
African language as an amazing testament to the resilience of the
African-American spirit, and as a form of resistance to outright deculturation.
Moreover,
it is important to realize that language is an integral part of the cultural
mosaic and, as such, must always be factored into the study of the
African-American experience — and in diversity training, at HISD and in
the teaching of African-American children.
This is what the Oakland School Board had in mind before the media took hold of
the story and advanced the ludicrous and spurious idea that they were planning
to teach Ebonics to the students,
when they really intended to use Ebonics as a bridge in teaching and learning
formal English, much like in bilingual education programs.
When
all is said and done, HISD School Board member Larry Marshall was right in
pointing out that “these are very racially sensitive times.” This
is the period of the Jena Six, when excessive criminal charges against six
young African-American young men for a school fight that was sparked because
Black students dared sit under the “White tree” in
Finally,
diversity training is a wonderful tool, but it must not be trivialized. The
bottom line is that such racism and poor judgment cannot be tolerated in
America or on the HISD Police force, whose officers are sworn to protect and
serve the students — most of whom are brown and black — in addition
to the faculty and staff of the school district. This is a test that HISD
simply cannot afford to fail. And the nation is watching.
Dr. Pamela D. Reed is a diversity consultant and assistant
professor of English and African-American literature at
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