ABSTRACT
This study is prompted by a relative paucity of literature on the predicament of African-born scholars in higher education regarding the discrimination they endure because of their foreign accent. While other major forms of prejudice have witnessed relatively monumental transformations, accent discrimination is yet to experience a similar kind of success despite the fact that it is constantly on the rise. The ensuing chapter examines the plight of African-born scholars (ABS) as foreign-accented speakers in higher education. It concludes that the relative lack of success in combating accent discrimination among this group ironically results in part from the formulation of the law enacted to curb or prevent it. This poses two important and perhaps long overdue questions: is accent discrimination indeed a product of institutional racism based on a legal foundation? More importantly, decades after its enactment, does the concept of national origin provide a sound and comprehensive basis for protecting employees from accent discrimination?
