It Ain't Hard to Tell: Distinguishing Fact from Fallacy in the Ebonics Controversy [2001]

One of the things I am sure about as the debate over Ebonics continues to unfold is that not much of it is taking place in libraries. Despite voluminous books on linguistics and education housed in many institutions, much of the general conversation, including the overwhelmingly negative discussion still taking place in the media, is disconnected from the decades of language scholarship represented by books and journals. My major purpose here, therefore, is to bring essential insights from serious language study to bear on public debate. By doing so, I hope to improve the quality of the overall discourse on Ebonics. I acknowledge that some of my own political biases will become evident as I suggest what might be done about some of the facts of language, but I at least aim to get the facts straight, a phenomenon occurring too infrequently in newspapers and on electronic outlets.