Language and African Americans

It was nearly a generation between Martin Luther King Junior Elementary School Children, et al., v. Ann Arbor School District Board (l979) and Oakland, California, Unified School District Board’s “Resolution on Ebonics” (l996). In that time, however, public knowledge of and attitudes toward African American Language (AAL) remained largely unchanged, as was exceedingly clear from the public outcry that greeted Oakland’s resolution. The author compares King and Oakland and finds that although it is clear that history did in fact repeat itself in many ways, there are also unmistakable signs of progress in language research, pedagogy, and policy. The author points out opportunities for linguists to infuse research on African American educational achievement with the results of Black Language research. For the sake of all children, it is time to act in ways that reflect genuine valuation of language diversity and to implement policies fostering multilingualism and dialect awareness.