Oakland School Board approves Black English program and sparks national debate

Jet, Jan 13, 1997

The Oakland (CA) School Board recently voted to recognize Black English, or Ebonics, as a second language, which has spawned a widespread debate.

Ebonics, a term combining the words "ebony" and "phonics" helps students to make the transition to standard English by understanding and translating their mother tongue, according to proponents of the idea.

Several Black leaders have spoken out against the Oakland School Board's plan.

Rev. Jesse Jackson, founder of Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, on NBC's "Meet the Press" said: "I understand the attempt to reach out to these children, but this is an unacceptable surrender, borderlining on disgrace. It's teaching down to our children." He appealed to the school board to reverse its decision.

Poet Maya Angelou said she also disagreed with the decision.

"I'm incensed," Angelou told the Wichita Eagle. "The very idea that African-American language is a language separate and apart is very threatening, because it can encourage young men and women not to learn standard English."

In Ebonics, English words lose a "d" following a vowel, so "good" becomes "goo." And the final "th" is sometimes replaced with "f," so "with" becomes "wif." Also acceptable are double or triple negatives such as "I'm not going back there no more."

Oakland officials seemed surprised by the uproar over the issue of Ebonics.

"The Oakland Unified School district is not replacing the teaching of standard American English with any other language. We are not teaching Ebonics," a statement issued by Board member Toni Cook said. "What we are doing in Oakland is providing our teachers and parents with the tools to address the diverse languages our children bring into the classroom."