The more things change, the more they stay the same: African American English, language policy, and African American learners

Abstract

Despite the substantive body of research on African American Language (AAL), designating it a meaningful, rule-governed language system and the first language of many African Americans, schools in the US have systematically failed to integrate a language policy related to African American English learners (AAELs). In this article, we employ a critical discourse and policy analysis to examine two major policies related to AAL and AAELs – the Martin Luther King Junior Elementary School Children et al. v. Ann Arbor School District, a federal district case in Michigan known as the Ann Arbor Decision, and the Ebonics Resolution adopted by the Oakland California Board of the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD). Our analysis reveals three themes across these texts – they affirm AAL as a ‘home and community language’ in its own right, mandate teachers to take ‘appropriate action’ in teaching AAL speakers, and dispel notions that AAL stems from cultural, social, and economic deprivation.

KEYWORDS:

• African American Language
• African American English
• language policy
• Ebonics

Acknowledgements

The research we conducted in Oakland was supported by a grant from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement through California State University at Hayward, 1998–2000. We are grateful to the teachers of OUSD for sharing their experiences with us. We extend special thanks to the members of Michèle Foster's Writing for Publication class for their critique of an earlier draft, to Leah Halliday and Christie Angleton for providing written comments, and to the issue editors and anonymous reviewers for their careful reading and feedback.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Tryphenia B. Peele-Eady

Tryphenia B. Peele-Eady is an Associate Professor of language, literacy, and sociocultural studies in the College of Education at the University of New Mexico. Her research explores the role of language, culture, and community in African American student learning; specifically, the range of knowledge youth acquire in the Black church context and the ways this knowledge bears on their schooling experiences.

Michèle L. Foster

Michèle L. Foster is a Professor and Henry Heuser Endowed Chair in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Louisville. Her research focuses on the social, cultural, and linguistic contexts of teaching and learning in the African American community and she has published widely on these topics.