Should school boards mandate the use of books written in 'Black English'?

Pro: Textbooks that are written in 'Black English' are more understandable to black readers. Thus motivation for learning is higher. Ideas and information become more accessible to them. Many books have translations into foreign languages to make them accessible to a wider audience. The translation of 'standard' English books into 'Black English' would give them a larger readership.

Pro: Black readers of books written in 'Black English' are inspired with pride in their heritage. These books help preserve the ethnic identity of African-American readers. On the other hand, as black people learn 'standard' English, they lose some knowledge and appreciation of their ancestry.

Pro: 'Standard' English is the language of the oppressor class. 'Black English' affords students whose ancestors were slaves a voice of their own. Textbooks written in 'Black English' thereby give black readers a chance for empowerment. Black readers have the right to read materials that are free from the political and social biases that have infected most of the literature to which they have been exposed.

Con: The creation of textbooks in 'Black English' fosters a greater segregation of blacks in a predominantly white society. Few non-black people would care to read them. The textbooks themselves may serve racism in the sense of emphasizing distinctions that make blacks vulnerable to discrimination.

Those who want to succeed in American society should learn the language which gives them access to power. Acquiring wealth and political influence requires learning the language, customs and conventions of the dominant class in society, and 'standard' English is the language of that class. Black people ought to have access to wealth and political power. They ought to be given every opportunity to achieve social and economic success.

Con: The costs of producing literature in Black English would be very high. The money that would be invested in such a project could be put to much better use for Black Americans.

Con: Changes in written language should be slow and evolutionary to permit the greatest number of people from many generations access to the thoughts of fellow humans.

Con: Black people are not the only ones who have to struggle to learn how to read 'standard' English: learning to read poses some difficulties for all students. Textbooks written in 'Black English' would not be significantly easier to read than the textbooks in 'standard' English that already exist.

Reference

Time, "Black Bible Chronicles", 1993 July 26, p. 61.