Black English is not a slang and it has consistent and logical grammatical and pronunciation rules, just as does Standard English. It is a unique historical creation of African Americans. If the practical result of the Oakland school board's decision is to inform teachers about Black English and to show them that a child is not inferior because he speaks a dialect, then it will be a good thing for the people of Oakland. But I am afraid that the theory of ebonics will serve to highlight language as the main cause of unacceptably high rates of school failure by African American children. I am afraid that it will be just another gimmick to divert attention from the real cause.
Language is only a part of the larger problem, which is institutional racism.
The deliberate underfunding of public education and other social services in the past twenty years has had a devastating impact on inner city neighborhoods. Dilapidated buildings, chronic overcrowding, high staff turnover and underprepared teachers are only some of the problems these children face daily. A peek inside the year round schools in the flatlands of Oakland will reveal what children and educators have been contending with for many years without relief. It is not by accident that Blacks have been kept at the bottom of the US economy for several hundred years. The fight for educational reforms must be linked with the struggle against race and class discrimination in the broader political arena, or it will be doomed to proposing trivialities like ebonics.