Linguistic Justice in the Classroom

 Being fairly new to the concept of inherent racism within Standard American English, I was not sure what to expect from April Baker-Bell's Linguistic Justice: Black Language, Literacy, Identity, and Pedagogy. My first encounter with the racist attitudes toward Black English was in a course I took last year, Sociolinguistics. This course was extremely enlightening to me, as my background is honestly not very diverse. I have lived in a small, rural, mostly white community my entire life. Aside from a few black friends that I was close to in school, and some friendships with international students in college, my social circle is mostly white. I found that most of the voices I hear outside of academia are also white--the books I read, the podcasts I listen to, and the media I am surrounded by. Sociolinguistics offered me a chance to question those ideas and to dissect my own limiting attitudes, and to learn to seek more diverse voices. It also taught me a bit about the structure of Black English, the history surrounding it, and a deeper respect for it. 

Baker-Bell's book certainly built upon some of my earlier twinges of conscience surrounding my white experience. Within the first two pages, she says, "I am challenging you, the reader, to see how linguistic hierarchies and racial hierarchies are interconnected" (2). Baker-Bell's purpose is to challenge the idea that "Standard American English" is anything but "White Mainstream English." She goes on to say that "...the marginalization, colonization, exploitation, policing, and stereotypes associated with Black Language is linked to a system of white supremacy that continues to support and maintain 'the oppression, exploitation, and overall domination of all Black people'" (11). Throughout her book, Baker-Bell seems to assert that the only path toward a more equal and just society is to tear down the idea that Standard English is superior and that students should be required to use it in the classroom, in their writing, or in the workplace. This is where I started to get lost.

Baker-Bell says, "...do we ever tell white students to code-switch so they can be the next Steve Jobs, Ellen DeGeneres, or Donald Trump? No, we do not! This is just downright racist" (30). Baker-Bell is referring to the dominant idea in classrooms currently, in which Black English is recognized as a language of its own, but students are encouraged to embrace it socially and switch to Standard American English for classroom and workplace communication. I see her point, but I am not sure I totally agree. White students are told all the time that they must adopt new linguistic skills in order to move into higher education and employment. Part of what I am doing in this course is to gain the vocabulary to talk about my field of study with others in academia. If I want to be respected in this realm, I have to use the tools of this realm and one of those tools is language. I understand that Baker-Bell would argue that gaining education is not the issue, but I would have to push back. I am intelligent, I have ideas, and I am able to speak about the field I am studying. But I don't have all the refined vocabulary that others have in this field, and I cannot expect them to respect me unless I am willing to participate in the game they are playing. I find it difficult to understand how I am supposed to teach composition and literature, while also telling students that they do not have to use Standard American English. Perhaps I am still developing in this area, but I don't believe I can deny the reality of the world to my students or to myself. Standard American English is the language I must use to get into the position to teach students, but then I should teach them that it's really just racist crap? I cannot go that far.

I struggle to understand how we move forward to a more respectful, inclusive, compassionate world when the approach seems to be so filled with accusation. Maybe I am too much of a structuralist, too afraid of tearing down all paradigms to get rid of the things that aren't helpful, too afraid of the chaos that comes when we question order. I believe there must be some level of order, and I admit that I am not sure yet what a more socially just order looks like. Our world is very complex, and I am still orienting myself in it. I take from Baker-Bell's work a deep respect for her point-of-view, her experiences with the students she portrays in her book, and her explanation of the history of Black English (64-67). I take with me a curiosity about the racist structures embedded in our linguistic history and practice. I depart from her in what I perceive to be a call to educate Black students about their linguistic history and the racist origins of Standard American English as a call to refuse to participate in it and see those who do as accepting of systemic racism. I think I can be aware, unaccepting, and unsure about how to proceed, all at the same time.