Summary

In the winter of 1996, the Oakland school board's resolution recognizing Ebonics as a valid linguistic system generated a brief firestorm of hostile criticism and misinformation, then faded from public consciousness.

But in the classrooms of America, the question of how to engage the distinctive language of many African-American children remains urgent. In "The Real Ebonics Debate," some of our most important educators, linguists, and writers — as well as teachers and students reporting from the field — examine the lessons of the Ebonics controversy and unravel complexities of the issue that have never been acknowledged.

"The Real Ebonics Debate" is based on a special issue of Rethinking Schools published in the fall of 1997. This 227-page book is published in collaboration with Beacon Press of Boston.