The Real Ebonics Debate: Power, Language, and the Education of African-American Children

In the winter of 1996, the Oakland school board's resolution recognizing Ebonics as a valid linguistic system generated a brief firestorm of hostile criticism and misinformation, 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 educators, linguists, and writers, as well as teachers and students reporting from the field, examine the lessons of the Ebonics controversy and unravel the complex issues at the heart of how America educates its children.

Theresa Perry is associate professor and vice president for community relations at Wheelock College in Boston. Lisa Delpit is the Benjamin E. Mays Professor of Urban Educational Leadership at Georgia State University in Atlanta.