The Oakland Ebonics Controversy: Language, Race, and Education

Introduction: The Oakland School Board Resolution

The Oakland, California School Board shocked many American educators by passing a resolution that authorized the use of Ebonics in its schools. The resolution not only authorized the use of Ebonics but also declared it to be the primary language of Black students then attending Oakland area schools. The passage of this resolution ignited a debate across the nation among educators and politicians that resonated to the highest levels of both professions.

The theory behind the Oakland School Board's actions was not as bizarre as many detractors believed. It was never the Board's intent to teach students Ebonics. The idea was to treat what they described as standard English — that is, what most school systems throughout the country taught — as a type of foreign language and to teach it as such to Oakland students (Williams). Using Ebonics as the foundational language, teachers would be able to direct students to translate from Ebonics in an effort to learn standard English.

The Oakland School Board was attempting to diminish the stereotype that the poor performance of Black students in school was the result of intellectual inferiority. The Board was taking a creative approach premised on the idea that Black Americans performed more poorly in school because they speak a form of English that is markedly different from standard English and that, as a result, they cannot comprehend standard English as it is typically taught in the nation's schools. This belief has been well documented by anthropologists and psychologists who have studied the subject.

Educational Rationale and Goals

It is important to consider what the ultimate goal of the Oakland School District was when it initiated what was widely viewed as a radical program. The program was seen as the best available method for teaching Oakland area students the essential elements of standard English. Acquiring such skills was considered by the Oakland School Board to be necessary for its students to gain access to the American middle class — which, for Board members, represented success. The Board was well aware that what they were already doing was not working and that they needed to try something different. Despite the widespread criticism that followed the announcement of the Board's resolution, they deserve credit for making a genuine attempt to address the problem.

From an anthropological point of view, the action of the Oakland School Board was a remarkable event. It marked a recognition that the language used by Black students in the district was not merely a vernacular, as many linguists had claimed, but an entirely different language. This approach may have reflected a legitimate recognition that Ebonics was different enough from standard English to qualify as a separate language, but there was also a pragmatic reason for the Board's actions. By declaring Ebonics to be a separate language, the Board qualified the district for significant federal funds intended for foreign language programs (Ramirez). Declaring Ebonics a separate language and the primary language of Oakland's students opened the way for Oakland schools to access funding that would otherwise not have been available.

Public Reaction and the Collapse of the Experiment

The Oakland School Board's actions fueled a debate that had been brewing for years regarding what mainstream media typically described as "black slang." Critics were harsh in their treatment of the Board's decision, calling it a "blunder" and arguing that the Board was "doing its students a disservice." Most criticisms focused on the claim that Ebonics was not an identifiable language but simply a form of slang or dialect. Most critics argued that encouraging its use would further alienate Black students who were already struggling to fit into mainstream American society.

The Ebonics debate also reignited racial tensions that had been suppressed for some time, as airwaves and newspapers were suddenly filled with comedians, editorial writers, and talk show hosts making the issue the topic of their discussions. Even Black intellectual and political leaders joined in criticizing the Oakland experiment. Reverend Jesse Jackson, arguably the most prominent Black leader in America at the time, was quoted as saying that the Oakland School Board's action made "slang talk a second language" and characterized its use as a way of "talking down" to students (Applebome). Other critics argued that the promotion of Ebonics was another means by which white America allowed segregation to continue.

The reaction to the Board's Ebonics resolution came as a major surprise. When the resolution was passed, the Oakland Board never anticipated the outrage that would follow. Within a few weeks, it softened its position on how Ebonics was to be treated in Oakland schools. Ebonics was demoted from being the primary language of Oakland school children and was viewed, instead, more as a form of Black slang. The Board made clear that helping students develop their standard English skills was the priority. A year later, the Board abandoned the Ebonics experiment entirely, though it did determine to continue using foreign language education techniques in teaching standard English to Oakland area students.

Conclusion: An Unfinished Experiment

The Oakland School Board experiment was seen as being too radical. The American public and media reacted strongly to the Board's actions. The Board tried a highly unconventional approach to assist their students and increase their language skills, but they were never afforded the opportunity to test whether the approach might have worked. Instead, the Board retreated quickly and conformed to the pressures being placed on them from every direction. It will never be known whether allowing Oakland students to use Ebonics as their primary language while treating standard English as a foreign language would have been successful. The idea was never allowed to develop to fruition. The linguistic revolution in Oakland was virtually ended before it began. It remains for future generations to determine whether such an experiment might have succeeded.

Socially, two cultures have developed in the United States, and nothing demonstrates this more clearly than the debate that occurred over the use of Ebonics in the Oakland School District. Regardless of what one might think about the appropriateness of the Board's actions, it must be acknowledged that they were attempting to address a real problem. There is little doubt that the language skills of Black students impede their ability to compete on an equal basis with other students who are exposed to standard English more regularly. In the final analysis, this is all the Oakland School Board was attempting to address. Unfortunately, less creative minds were allowed to interfere and impose their will upon the Board. In the process, what could have been a remarkable social experiment was quashed.

Works Cited

Applebome, Peter. "Dispute over Ebonics Reflects a Volatile Mix that Roils Urban Education." New York Times, 1 March 1997.

Norton, Boony. "Language, Identity, and the Ownership of English." TESOL Quarterly (1997): 409–429.

Ramirez, David. Ebonics (New Perspectives on Language and Education). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters, 2005.

Rickford, John R. What is Ebonics. Washington, D.C.: Linguistic Society of America, 2002.

Williams, Robert L. "The Ebonics Controversy." Journal of Black Psychology (1997): 208–214.