When the Oakland school board issued a resolution calling for schools to acknowledge the reality of black English in the classroom, a huge national outcry and media frenzy arose. The debate about "Ebonics" made national headlines, quickly became politicized and divisive, opened wounds about ra ce, then faded from public consciousness. But in the classrooms of America, the question of how to engage the distinctive language of many African-American children remains urgent. In The Real Ebonics Debate, some of our most important progressive educators, linguists, and writers, as well as teachers and students reporting from the field, examine the lessons of the Ebonics controversy and unravel the complexities of the issue, covering realities never acknowledged by the media. They discuss the meaning of th e political debate; they think through the detailed dynamics of teacher-student interaction; and they give wonderfully precise linguistic insight into the structure and uses of African-American English-from colloquial speech to the literary voice of Toni Morrison. The Real Ebonics Debate cuts to the heart of how America educates African-American children. It will have immediate and enduring value for anyone thinking about race and schools.

The media frenzy surrounding the 1996 resolution by the Oakland School Board brought public attention to the term "Ebonics", however the idea remains a mystery to most. John Baugh, a well-known African-American linguist and education expert, offers an accessible explanation of the origins of the term, the linguistic reality behind the hype, and the politics behind the outcry on both sides of the debate. Using a non-technical, first-person style, and bringing in many of his own personal experiences, Baugh debunks many commonly-held notions about the way African-Americans speak English, and the result is a nuanced and balanced portrait of a fraught subject. This volume should appeal to students and scholars in anthropology, linguistics, education, urban studies, and African-American studies.

The essays in this book help to make sense of the workings of language in our everyday world--on the personal, local, national, and international levels. The authors are all linguists, seeking to help readers free themselves of language prejudices, thus opening the way to better informed views on the function of language in society, a more balanced treatment in schools, and more linguistically-sound public policies.