Robert L (Lee) Williams, II

Beyond Ebonics offers the first comprehensive survey of events surrounding the Oakland, California school board's resolutions declaring Ebonics as the official language of their African American students. Baugh's research uncovers untold facts surrounding this controversy, exposing linguistic stereotypes, conflicting definitions for Ebonics, and the political firestorm that ensued. His conslusions touch upon the race relations, including calls forincreased national unity and greater linguistic tolerance. [Also available as an e-Book in the WashU Libraries Catalog]

African Americans have viewed literacy as a key to upward mobility and freedom since before America's Reconstruction Era. However, African American's academic achievement continues to be plagued by the ever-widening achievement gap especially when their literacy skills are measured by standardized assessments that do not consider or value their culture, their experiences It is common to think that this is an issue in K-12 settings. However, research and practical experiences suggest that African American students' achievement continues to be affected at the post-secondary level where they are likely to be taught by faculty who have limited experience with the nuances of Black English (or African American Vernacular English AAVE). This book steps into that gap by offering a resource for teaching speakers of AAVE at the post-secondary level.