When Black Kids Talk “White”
By Demetrius D. Walker
Tuesday a good friend of mine asked me to speak to her 8 year old daughter about an issue in which I am quite familiar. For the entire semester, her oldest child has been pleading with her for a transfer to a new school. Apparently the young lady is being badgered and teased on a daily basis. It’s no secret that bullies tend to pick on those with obvious differences – the skinny kid, the overweight girl, or the guy that stutters. Unfortunately, in this instance, and across Black America, “talking white” can be added to the list of subjects that trigger harassment.
Somewhere in the last 3 decades, the usage of slang, ignorant language, and/or Ebonics became exclusively associated with being Black. Was this the end product of the 1970s blaxploitation films? Or could it be the direct result of Hip Hop’s emergence on the urban landscape? I would truly have to do more research to get to the bottom of this issue. Whatever the origin, it gravely concerns me that our youth are brought up with the expectation that they should avoid scholarly behavior and rhetoric in order to be considered authentically Black.
The mentality that proper sentence structure and words with more than two syllables are exclusively reserved for Caucasians is more than troubling. This thinking perpetuates a cycle of ignorance that compels Black youth to find comfort in underachieving. Growing up, I would listen to all the “cool” kids brag about how many absences they had and how many classes they either failed or were close to failing. In order not to create a spectacle of name calling, or worse, physical assault, I did my best to conceal my report card and deny receiving commendable grades. As well, I even made sure to incorporate improper grammar, foul language, and the latest slang to assimilate to my inner city public school environment. Occasionally a bully would wrestle the stiff piece of paper out of my clutches and discover that “yo this ni**a is a nerd!” While these experiences forced me to develop thick skin and a sense of humor (to distract the ig’nant folk that could obviously dish out a ghetto shellacking), it’s quite sad that I and many Black adolescents had to live in fear of being considered “too” intelligent.
In the age of Obama, the destruction of degenerate Black mentalities is essential to the reversal of our race’s misfortunes. The longer we associate “talking white” with being inferior, the farther we will fall behind our White, Asian, and other counterparts. Black parents, encourage your children to speak properly. Make them take pride in being Young. Gifted. Black. College students, graduates, and scholars make it your duty to mentor at least 1 elementary, middle, or high school student. Be America’s Next Top Role Model for them. Professionals, take time out of your schedules to do what Wu-Tang’s Inspectah Deck asked in ’93s C.R.E.A.M and “kick the truth to the young, black youth.” Certainly scholarship was involved in you arriving at your destination – prove to them that Smart Is REALLY The New Gangsta.
Although the following video is humorous, it has a message. Wayne Brady is notoriously associated with “talking white.” In this clip he goes out of his way to prove his “Blackness.” I love this clip because it shows how silly it is to assume that you can prejudge a person’s “Blackness” by the way he or she talks. I’ll tackle the whole issue of “Blackness” in another article. In the meantime enjoy!
About the Author: 
Well . . .
The whole “talking white” phenomenon you discuss is actually a response to racism in schools. Consider this. You have a teacher, probably white, who is not exactly hiding her (probably) disdain for black culture. She’s probably teaching not just the standard way to speak, but the “proper” way, the “correct” way. The truth is black vernacular English is as “proper” a dialect of English as is the standard English used in academia. So, when a teacher bashes black vernacular English, and it’s obvious that the white students have the upper hand in familiarity with this particular dialect, without knowing what I know, a childish response is to reject “talking white” as a way of rejecting the racism in the classroom. What they’re engaging in is a sort of protest, albeit juvenille and unuseful in the end.
We absolutely agree on the need for black children to learn standard English and accept the fact that in order to succeed, they need to master it. The way, though, to get this message through to them, is by explaining they need to learn standard English for the purposes of being successful and there’s nothing wrong with their home vernacular. Take Italy for example. That’s what they tell their students. Not that anything’s wrong with whatever Italian vernacular they speak on home, but for school/business/ect, they need to learn standard Italian. In the schools in the US where this code-switching is used, students put up better grades, better test scores, and have a higher self-image and self-esteem.
I come to this conclusion not simply by life experience and opinion, but by a couple of linguistics classes and continued reading on the topic of social linguistics, black vernacular English, education, and black school children.
Mr. Walker…I couldn’t agree with you more …here are just a few phrases that make me want to turn in my “Negro Card”:
1. I seen (wtf?? hasn’t anyone heard of placing “have” between the “I” and “seen” – hell, I’ll even settle for “I’ve”)
2. using the word “they” instead of “their”… (wtf??)
3. convesate – (wtf?? is this really a word?)
4. light “complected” (wtf??? when I was growing up, this absolutely was not a word – I think this non-word has been added to the dictionary – now I know that’s a damn shame)
I could go on and on (and that’s a damn shame).
Have you ever listened to the lyrics of one of R Kelly’s songs? – another damn shame – truly embarassing.. this is the junk that our kids are listening to…
yeah… I think I’m going to have to just go ahead and turn in my damn Negro Card..
They are confused that’s all.
They need to learn swahilli period.
That would take care of all that so-called
white talking sounding talk.
Actually, YoGirl, you’re wrong. There’s no such thing as “proper” English, only a “standard” English. We obviously see who got to choose the standard.
Only the British can be said to speak “proper” English, and only the upper crust of society there can truly claim to speak it. The emphasis should not be so much on speaking “proper” English, but communicating effectively. I have no problem with Ebonics or slang, and I use both quite frequently. It all depends on my audience, however. When I worked at Merrill Lynch, I spoke in a manner that was acceptable to my co-workers and employer. In my neighborhood, I spoke as people there spoke. I also am faced with the task of having to explain such concepts as physics and law to young folks who have yet to be exposed to the concepts I am trying to explain to them, and must rely on “street” vernacular to do so. When I blog, the same rules apply, how I write depends upon who my audience is.
I do not believe one’s manner of speech has much to do with intelligence. A very good friend of mine, never graduated from high school, sells drugs, has ten children by different women, and speaks the worse possible English. At the same time, he can go toe-to-toe with me in Jeopardy!, and is capable of comprehending any subject I choose to discuss with him. Like myself, he has never been ashamed of the fact that he is intelligent, and he is quick to let you know this. In fact, most of my friends are those who speak “bad” English. They are good people and quite intelligent. With the exception of the brother mentioned above, they may not be as intelligent as I, but I tend to think that of those with a wall full of degrees as well anyway (heh). They have made bad choices for whatever reason there may be, but that is the extent of their ignorance. Despite being “enlightened” and educated myself, I’ve done things that run contrary to my intellect. I have sold drugs (and used them), robbed people, and in certain social environments, I speak with an abundance of profanity enough to make the devil blush.
I should also add that when our people say that one of us is speaking “White”, they are not talking about the choice of words, or even the proper pronunciation of words. What they are referring to is “inflection”. For instance, I spoke better English than my father, but my father talked like a White man. Not just any White man, he talked as if he were Jewish. His tone, his pattern, and his frequent use of Yiddish in conversation. I have the tendency to sound Italian-American, I don’t need anyone to point this out (though it’s happened often enough), I am acutely aware of it. I grew up in Staten Island, New York where there is no end to Italian communities. I don’t speak that way all of the time, but it does emerge occasionally. Keep in mind too, the great number of White people do not speak “proper” English, and (like the rest of us) speak according to which part of the country they reside in (south, east coast, mid-west, etc). Environment influences people in that regard, and I recognize that. But a Black child who did not grow up in a predominately Italian or Jewish environment, yet now speaks this way as an adult, is apparently (shamefully) trying to be something (or some one) they are not. The same could be said for Caucasian children. What would be said of an Italian who was raised in a community of nothing but Italians, but talks as if he grew up in Crown Heights, Brooklyn?
Ironically, the attitude of Black children teasing other Black children for enunciating well and getting high grades is a result of our having taken on the worst aspects of European behavior. White children are just as quick to ridicule “nerds” and “geeks”, so much so that we see events unfold as happened in Columbine. I know this because I grew up in a multicultural (though predominately White) neighborhood. I was a straight “A” student, but I was quick to lend a black eye to anyone who had anything to say about it. Perhaps parents of bright children need to teach them self-defense as well.
Our young need to be taught there is a time and place for everything, and to achieve. So long as they are able to effectively communicate, we should not stress speaking “proper”. I do think it is important for us to speak that way when seeking employment and other similar circumstances. The importance of the English language to our people extends as only as far as our need to be able to get through Western society. It is not the language of the gods. And again, speaking proper English is not at all an indicator of superior intellect. My little sister enunciates words far better than I, but if I start discussing Stephen Hawking or Werner Heisenberg, her eyes glaze over. We need to emphasize other things to our young far more valuable to our existence: brilliance, commitment, intestinal fortitude, respect, love, character and so forth. All else is either secondary or irrelevant.
Great blog, thanks. I really love it!
Would you please translate your blog into German because I’m not that comfortable reading it in English? I’m getting tired of using Google Translate all the time, there is a little WordPress plugin called like global translator which will translate all your posts by default- that would make reading posts on your sweet blog even more comfortable. Cheers dude, Thailand Top 100!
All people scared about the conditions in Thailands capital, let me tell you, don’t go there!
This kind of writing is just what we need. It is witty, interesting, and useful. An applause to you for revealing your artistic mind with all of us.
You should always make time for physical fitness, do you change your oil in your car every 3,000 miles? Do you winterize your house? Shower? You should give your body the same treatment, make the time for yourself and those you love.
Wonderful issues altogether, you simply received a new reader. What could you suggest in regards to your put up that you made some days in the past? Any sure?
Comprendre la bourse http://lesoptionsbinaires.blogspot