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What is the role of ethnicity and race in the way audiences interpret media messages
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“Because we wanted our the messages to be published…” (Jordan 371) It was there, in that line, that I came to the initial belief that the best decision for June Jordan’s students was to write the opening, group paragraph to Newsday and the Brooklyn police in Standard English. I quickly wrote down my belief, for I wanted to remember it as I read on. I knew that whatever was to come could be powerful enough to sway me, or raw enough to leave me lost. Before I delve in to my final belief on the ultimate choice made by the students of June Jordan’s class, “The Art of Black English”, I must justify the reasoning behind paying tribute to Reggie Jordan in the “language of [his] killers” (Jordan 372) and in the tongue of his oppressors.
What was the ultimate goal for the students of June Jordan? If it truly was to get their message published in Newsday for all the public to see—as they explicitly state—then there is no doubt their introduction would be written in Standard English. bell hooks, American author and social activist believed that “using the [black] vernacular means that Standard English may be needed if one wishes to reach into a more inclusive audience.” (hooks 172) For the student’s introductory message to be perceived with respect and acknowledgment and equated as intelligent by the predominantly White community, their statement would need to abide by the rules and structures that create Standard English. Like it or not, it was the reality of the era these students were writing in, and not much has significantly changed since then.
I understand the heavy weight that was pressing down upon these students’ shoulders. On one hand, one could not properly pay tribute and respects to the brutally murdered Reggie Jordan by wr...
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...is our present reality. However, the discussion raised by Jordan and her students is one that every modern classroom should engage in. With the illumination of these relevant issues that both cross and exist within racial lines, the new generation of students can carry on the ultimate goals of Willie Jordan and his classmates: to hold on to language, as it is akin the possession of power in a time where there is a lack thereof.
Works Cited
Hooks, Bell. "Language: Teaching New Worlds/New Words." Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom. New York: Routledge, 1994. 167-75. Print.
Jordan, June. "Nobody Mean More to Me Than You and the Future Life of Willie Jordan." Harvard Educational Review 58.3 (1988): 363-74. Web.
MacNeil, Robert, and William Cran. "Bad-Mouthing Black English." Do You Speak American? Orlando: Harcourt, 2005. 115-49. Print.
In Baldwin 's article If Black English Isn 't A Language Then Tell Me What Is? starting off by telling the readers about French speaking people. He is explaining how different dialects doesn 't mean people aren 't speaking the same language. Going deeper about language saying that it ties into the culture. Give an example of Black Culture and how their expression of English is different. Talking about the phrases like jazz me, baby, sock it to me, and funky; being used that way they weren 't meant to. Finally introducing how the African American culture has been disrespected or ignored. Telling
...tain a fresh appreciation of the world around them. Socially, they are sensitive to others’ needs and enjoy rewarding interpersonal relations. At the Henry Horner Homes Project, Michael has written his legend. "It is sentimental to pretend that he can solve the many problems that beset this pace, irresponsible to imagine that he owes a greater responsibility to these kids than one owes them one’s self. But he could focus attention on these children’s problems simply by crossing the street. These kids, and others like them, are not Jordan’s obligation, but they are his opportunity. And with so much on the lives, who would you rather see with the ball?" (Naughton, 1992 Pg. 250-251)
This marginalization is still prevalent today, as Black English is still overwhelmingly stigmatized and discredited in nearly all academic settings, particularly within American culture. Jordan’s demonstration that Black English is not given respect or afforded validity in academic and social settings still rings true today. Black English-speaking students see little to no representation of their language in the classroom, and are often actively discouraged from speaking the language of their community and of their upbringing. This suppression and delegitimization of a valid method of communication represents colonialist and white supremacist notions of language, social homogeneity, and latent institutional racism, and has negative, even dire, consequences for the students
Language Matters. Third ed. Southlake: Fountain Head, 2010. 148-58. Print.
In his work, “A Talk to Teachers,” James Baldwin poured out his point of view on how he believed American children should be taught. Throughout the essay, Baldwin focused on a specific race of school children: Negros. Perhaps this was because he himself was an African American, or even for the mere idea that Negros were the most vulnerable for never amounting to anything — according to what the American society thought during the twentieth century, specifically the 1960s when this piece was published. With the focus determined, the reader is able to begin analyzing Baldwin’s main appeal through the essay. At first glance one could argue that the essay has no credibility with Baldwin’s lack of not being a school teacher himself; however, when further evaluated one could state that whether or not he was a school teacher has nothing to do with the fact that he establishes his credibility, he appeals to morals, emotions with authority, and values, which thus outweighs the possible negativities associated with his argument.
The way Staples structures this essay emphasizes his awareness of the problem he faces. The essay’s framework consists mostly of Staples informing the reader of a scenario in which he was discriminated against and then following it with a discussion or elaboration on the situation. This follow-up information is often an expression stating comprehension of his problem and than subtitle, logical criticisms toward it. For example, Staples describes women “fearing the worst of him” on the streets of Brooklyn. He then proceeds to declare that he understands that “women are particularly vulnerable to street violence, and young black males are drastically overrepresented among the perpetrators of that violence.” Staples supports this statement with information about how he had witnessed gang violence in Chester, Pennsylvania and saw countless black youths locked away, however, Staples pronounces that this is no excuse for holding every young black man accountable, because he was an example of a black man who “grew up one of the good boys” coming “to doubt the virtues of intimidation early on.” This narrative structure highlights that Staples is not a hypocrite because he is not show ignorance toward the problem he is addressing unlik...
The exhaustion of the long commute to Monroe Elementary School everyday had upset me, the feeling of being powerless overcame my mentality. I constantly thought to myself about the all whites elementary school only seven blocks away, what made them so surprior? I, as a third grader, grew up to the discriminatory profiling. Of course it was nothing new, but I could not comprehend why. Recalling back to Monroe Elementary; the broken ceiling tiles, the wore down floors, and the cracked windows was not an ideal place for any education to take place. It had only proved to me that the segregation of white and black children made us African American students feel inferiority to the white American students.
The African influence of American English can be found as far back as the Seventeenth century. Although its influence may have began that far back, the influence of African American slang has arguably reached its peak (so far) in the last half on the 20th century. Evidence of this can be seen in magazines, music, television, and films. Perhaps more importantly, evidence can be seen in the way that people of ethnic groups, other than African American, have changed their speech due to this influence. The Equal Rights Movement lead to a paradigm shift in African American linguistic consciousness due to Black intellectuals, scholars, activists, artists, and writers deliberately engaging in a search for a way to express Black identity and the particular circumstances of African American life. Although there had been strides in Black pride in the past, this was the first one to call for linguistic Black p...
The four poems by Langston Hughes, “Negro,” “Harlem,” “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” and “Theme for English B” are all powerful poems and moving poems! Taken all together they speak to the very founding of relations of whites and blacks all the way down through history. The speaker in the poem the, “Negro” and also, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” tells the tale of freedom and enslavement that his people have endured, and it heralds their wisdom and strength. The poems “Harlem” and “Theme for English B” speaks to the continuous unfair treatment that the blacks have received at the hands of white people throughout the years.
Ebonics, also known as Black English, is a nonstandard dialect spoken in many homes in the inner cities of America. This nonstandard language is often looked upon as low-class or lazy talk. This is not the case, however. Due to consistencies found in the dialect, there seems to be an order. It has been found that, when learning English, African-Americans adapted the language using some of the structure and rules of their own native tongue. This Black English has carried on through slavery and then freedom for hundreds of years. Although there is a coexistence of more than two dialects in our society, those in power forget the flexibility of our language and see no other way than the use of Standard English.
On the hot day of August 2, 1943, a racial storm brewed within Harlem, New York. With the Detroit riots in just weeks past, the white and black people of Harlem felt a mutual, chaotic animosity towards each other. As a result, the Harlem race riots of 1943 occurred just before James Baldwin’s 19th birthday, which was also the day of his father’s death. Leaving a devastating gash in the hearts of Harlem natives and the American people, this event not only touched the lives of Harlem’s residents, but also exhibited a picture to the world regarding American race relations.
The focus of the column is about the plight of African-American male students who have begun to enter the white prep schools in the south. Marvin Barnard and Bill Alexander were two black teenage boys who were among the first African-Americans to integrate into Virginia Episcopal School, an all-white prep school in Lynchburg, Virginia. They recognized the opportunity that they were given to start a trend of change in society, and throughout the article, these students challenge themselves to rise above the hate and unfair expectations put on them by their peers. As the title states, they begin to excel in the classroom while also keeping their noses clean. Their diligence and hard work helped to pave the way for other black students to enter these segregated schools. While as a result, it seemed that these students were unfairly pressured and their teenage lives were left unfulfilled because of the decisions they made to behave the right way. However, in the end, their sacrifice helped to complete a new change in the schooling system Not only did white students begin to respect and change their views on blacks, the entire system had to change to accommodate those who were coming in and trying to create change for
“An array of knowledges, skills, abilities and contacts possessed and used by Communities of Color to survive and resist racism and other forms of oppression” encompasses the main idea of Community Cultural Wealth. It is vital to understand that students will step foot into the classroom with a variety of cultures zipped up in their backpacks, and it is our job as educators to make sure that equality is instilled/taught in our classrooms. The second a student feels a sense of discrimination, whether from ourselves or their fellow classmate(s), is when the safe and comforting environment of the classroom begins to diminish. Here I will discuss just how important it is to see the differences amongst students as an advantage
Over the course of the century chronicling the helm of slavery, the emancipation, and the push for civil, equal, and human rights, black literary scholars have pressed to have their voice heard in the midst a country that would dare classify a black as a second class citizen. Often, literary modes of communication were employed to accomplish just that. Black scholars used the often little education they received to produce a body of works that would seek to beckon the cause of freedom and help blacks tarry through the cruelties, inadequacies, and inconveniences of their oppressed condition. To capture the black experience in America was one of the sole aims of black literature. However, we as scholars of these bodies of works today are often unsure as to whether or not we can indeed coin the phrase “Black Literature” or, in this case, “Black poetry”. Is there such a thing? If so, how do we define the term, and what body of writing can we use to determine the validity of the definition. Such is the aim of this essay because we can indeed call a poem “Black”. We can define “Black poetry” as a body of writing written by an African-American in the United States that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of an experience or set of experiences inextricably linked to black people, characterizes a furious call or pursuit of freedom, and attempts to capture the black condition in a language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm. An examination of several works of poetry by various Black scholars should suffice to prove that the definition does hold and that “Black Poetry” is a term that we can use.
Hooks, Bell. "Chapter 1 Engaged Pedagogy." Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom. New York: Routledge, 1994. N. pag. Print.