This essay notes that the book under review is primarily a popular translation of research in the area of vernacular black English (VBE) that presents a relatively non-technical discussion of the linguistic characteristics of VBE and their educational implications. (Author/AM)

Much research and writing has been carried out in recent years in an attempt to account for and eliminate, or at least minimize, the poor performance of many Black, lower-socioeconomic status, urban children in our schools. This annotated bibliography lists articles, books, and papers that explore the theoretical frameworks employed to describe…

The speech habits of the most oppressed --and the largest-- segment of the black population in the United States did not spring solely from an inability to handle acceptable forms of spoken English, nor mainly from the limitations caused by the particular stock of words known to the speaker. Black slang stems from a somewhat disseminated rejection…

Verbal and nonverbal patterns of communication found in the black community are discussed in this paper. They have been selected on the basis of their potential as interference factors in intergroup communication. A section on black language describes and explains the following categories: rapping, running it down, jiving, shucking, copping a…

Speech, language, and composition professionals should take a leadership role in working toward a national public policy on language. The declining rates of literacy and educational achievement in AfroAmerican communities serve as evidence that such a policy is needed. However, the policy would govern language teaching and language use throughout…