Bill Cosby has been critized by some for airing the dirty laundry of inner city Black America. But I agree first hand with what he talks about. I grew up in Harlem in a 6 story walk up. None of my neighbors had more than the rest, but we had a sense of pride, hope and history. As children, we knew that all adult eyes were watching us when our parents weren't around. And if we acted up, we would be quickly corrected by another nearby adult who also told our parents what had happened. My mother would tell my teacher at each meeting, "You get him at school, call me and I'll take care of him when he gets home."
We competed to do well in school because it is what was expected of ourselves and our parents. And we spoke the king's english better than the king, because we heard Paul Robeson, Josephine Baker,Thurgood Marshall , Dr. Martin Luther King and our parents speak in clear understandable english. Listen as Bill Cosby tells us " Black Children today are trying to tell us something, but were not listening." I think it's a hunger to know that their history is far more than slavery. We have allowed everyone and everything else tell them that they are nothing. So many act as they feel.
The author of The African American Guide To Better English says "Stop blaming the white man for your economic woes. When you don't pick up a book and read it, the fault is yours, if you can't speak English correctly you're not going to get a good job. If you want to use your Ebonics or black English amongst yourselves, that is fine. But don't bring black speak into the work place because you will be denied opportunities. " BlackEnglish.com
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