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FORUM | ? Cbonie/: Oho/I of Povl louirenee Dunbor 'Lawd, Say It Ain't So, Us Done Come Too Far!' "Ebonics" and its pitfalls are nothing new to those who know about the life and times of Paul Lawrence Dunbar (1872-1906). Dunbar, the first African American to be recognized as a poet, was roughly 16 when his poems appeared in his hometown news paper, the "Dayton (Ohio) Herald." After a work he published at 20, Dunbar gained instant fame, because it was so favorably reviewed in "Harper's Weekly" by William Dean Howells, one of America's most influential literary critics. Dunbar flowered into his genius in the same generational span as many of today's black school children, like those in Oakland, Calif. The drama of his life instructs the school board there to rethink its misguided disdain for the learning ability of black kids. Dunbar rejected thCrefcsons-given by the white literary public of 0 * -his day who praised his work. To him, the "jingles" he devised -were explained in the poem, "We Wear the Mask." He was "skin nin' and grinnin'." Making fun of the turbulence taking place in black life. Dunbar, soon the "Negro barb and lyrist," traveled to London Ito recite his*work before tjueen Victoria, during her Diamond "Jubilee. He could well speak the Queen's English, but she never knew! Dunbar's more serious ? though rarely seen ? poems were in the vein of standard English, like the works of John Keats, Robert Burns, and James Whitcomb Riley. But, it was Dunbar's "Negro dialect" poetry ? the broken English of the newly-freed - Negroes ? that earned him widespread acclaim. ? Paul Lawrence Dunbar died a broken, discontented, and despairing man, at 33, having written his own obituary: "May God in His great compassion, reward me with death." He felt that Howells had done him irreversible harm with his high-minded regard for Dunbar's "Negro dialect verse," disregarding com pletely his standard verse poetry. Many African Americans may live separate and hopeless life times if the newest recognition of Dunbar's dialect ? "Ebonics" ? takes hold. Ebonics compresses and contracts two words. The "Eb" is from "Ebony," meaning black, the "onics" from phonics, or sound. If the utterance ? Ebonics ? makes its way into popular LIFT EVERY VOICE By DR WILLIAM H TURNER usage and educational practice, as recently suggested by the Oak land, Calif., school board, it may not only be a neat contraction,'it will also be a cruel contraption. Time spent in schools trying to find the logig., to decode, and to interpret the ever-changing ver 9 ' " I Oakland Unified School District Oakland School District Special education classes: Students retained Ififst year Truant students Suspended students QPA of Black students I 52,000 students 53% black 71% black 64% black 67% black 80% black i 1.8/4.0 nacuiar 01 Aincan-American youtn is time well-wasted, rranklv, ; too many schools are already failing far too many African-Ameri- j can youths. . ? | To take the time of teachers and students will only further ! delay and perhaps derail the full participation of millions of ! African Americans from the American mainstream African ? Americans today, like Dunbar, who came of age just after slavery. ? must take in a fuli range of symbols used in mainstream culture. No aspect of the culture is more important than language, both ! of the dominant culture and the subculture to which different groups in the total society belong. Those with a secgnd language i ? like Black English ? are richer for understanding its complex- 1 ity and expressiveness. But, without a doubt, African Americans ' sidetracked by serious attention to Ebonics ? as a legitimate lan- | guage ? will be destitute and on the margins of society's eco- i nomic opportunities when they come up lacking a firm grasp of ! the principal language of global culture ? standard English. At a ! more practical level, Ebonics is flawed, because it changes rapidly ! and is distinct in different geographical and cultural regions. Paul ! Lawrence Dunbar's "jingles in broken tongue" were fairly uni- ! form, because rural black peasants all spoke the same language. Dunbar's mastery of the dual uses to which his people could put the Queen's language gives him the distinction of having ; countless Dunbar High Schools ? bygone black school buildings ? named for him throughout the land, especially in the South. ; - Ebonics High School? Perish the thought! ? . I (Dr. William Turner is a regular freelance columnist for the Chronicle.) ? The Truth Behind Ebonics The coverage of the Oakland School Board's decision to embrace the Standard English Proficiency program district-wide is an example of "straw-man journalism." Some reporters have pulled a "gotcha" on high-ranking state and federal officials by asking them if they embrace the district "teaching Black English." Betrayed by their ignorance of the lin guistics and pedagogy issues involved, those officials have issued truly loony statements. Since 1991, it has been a policy of the State Board of Educa tion to recognize Ebonics, the syncretism of African and Euro pean languages, while designing curriculum strategies. Dr. Ernie Noma Lemoine put the theory to work in Los Angeles with the Language Development Program tor African American students, which has been in effect in dozens of Los Angeles schools for five years. Like many who hear a snap characterization of "Black Eng lish," I was somewhat skeptical of the concept before hearing Dr. Lemoine explain it. Simply, the primary human language acquisi tion occurs before the age of four. Any language learning after that has to occur on the foundation of that original language acquisition. A French person who learns English still thinks in French. The language patterns common to African-American conrnmnitres across the Western Hemisphere, whether expressed in^nglish, French, Spanish or Dutch, carry a common set of grammar and syntax rules that are traced to the languages of the Niger-Congo region of Africa. Those patterns are not just incor-\ rect English, but an intentional retention of that culture. Ebonics is far more than non-standard use of "to be" and combining consonants. It is also the magical use of simile and metaphor, the mastery of inflection and tone and the persuasive qualities that have made people like Paul Robeson, Sidney Poitier, Mary McCleod Bethune, W.E.B. Du Bois and Martin Luther King Jr. some of the country's greatest treasures. As teachers learn more about Ebonics, they not only gain a better understanding of their students but can show students how to turn those cultural attributes into strengths. The state of Cali fornia and the federal government have been funding the research that has gleaned these simple truths for two decades. As long as a few academics bandied the theories about, no one cared. But pro grams like Dr. Lemoine's have discovered that the targeted chil dren do learn English better when taught this way. Oakland teachers have piloted the Standard English Proficiency program, often at their own expense, for three years, attending conferences, doing their own ad-hoc in-service and sharing their results with ANOTHER VIEW By JOHN WILLIAM TEMPLETON ? ' ? ? whoever would listen. The decision to adopt their strategies on a district-wide basis is an object lesson in school reform ? not fodder for talk-show hosts. ? People like Delaine Eastin, the superintendent of schools, who automatically attach lower standards with "Black" do not set foot in these schools where parents and teachers and students are tackling textbooks and curricula that do not meet their needs. Black parents particularly are fed up with the "soul murder" being committed on their youngsters before they even reach the fourth grade. If school choice and parental input are meaningful concepts, then these programs that are making a difference must be nurtured, refined and duplicated. It is time to stop the system atic demotivation that Carter G. Woodson, father of Negro His tory Week, wrote about in "The Miseducation of the Negro." I would urge any critic of the Oakland program to read that book first before commenting on the program. (San Francisco based writer John William Templeton man ages an independent publishing house that provides social sci ence and pedagogy books to California school districts. He is also editor of Groit, the African-American, African and Caribbean business daily.) ? ' ?i The Winston-Salem Chronicle will publish a spcciAl Mar? LutIier KiNq ; SECTiON AS A SAluTE TO This qREAT MAN COMMEMORATiNq his biRThdAy. Ttarsiay. JuuryK. 1997 Space Reservations y ? Copy Deadline > i. Call Hit) 722-1624 I _ __J \ Winston-Salem Chronicle The Choice For African-American News USPS 067910 617 N. Liberty Street Winston-Salem. N.C 27102 The Winston Salem Chronicle is published every Thursday by the Winston-Salem Chroni cle Publishing Co. Inc. 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