ABSTRACT
This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part focuses on the political implications and impacts of John R. Rickford’s work. It considers the racialized identities of children in an imperial context where ideologies of the benevolence of the government and the promise of political autonomy sit uncomfortably alongside entrenched, hierarchical notions of racial difference. The part shows that Rickford’s career has been marked by giving voice to speakers who have been socially and politically disenfranchised. It examines, through stylistic analysis of newsprint and archival records, stories about the American Guardian Association. This organization was founded in the 1920s in the US-occupied Philippine islands ostensibly to advance welfare work among children of mixed American and Filipino blood. The part addresses the question of whether or not African American language should be construed as a separate language from English.
