If Black English Isn T A Language Summary

The following essay If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is? Written by American Novelist (1979) James Baldwin addresses the debate about Black English. Baldwin’s piece first appeared in the New York Times during an era when Americans fueled over the validity of Black English. In his piece, Baldwin argues that white Americans opposition towards Black English, a birthed language, is due to their lack of understanding the language and failure to realize its reality. White Americans argued that Black English could not be recognized as an individual entity of language since it was not a language itself, while Baldwin made it clear that Black Americans were not arguing about the language itself rather the role of language. Baldwin