The more things change, the more they stay the same: African American English, language policy, and African American learners

Abstract

Despite the substantive body of research on African American Language (AAL), designating it a meaningful, rule-governed language system and the first language of many African Americans, schools in the US have systematically failed to integrate a language policy related to African American English learners (AAELs). In this article, we employ a critical discourse and policy analysis to examine two major policies related to AAL and AAELs – the Martin Luther King Junior Elementary School Children et al. v. Ann Arbor School District, a federal district case in Michigan known as the Ann Arbor Decision, and the Ebonics Resolution adopted by the Oakland California Board of the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD). Our analysis reveals three themes across these texts – they affirm AAL as a ‘home and community language’ in its own right, mandate teachers to take ‘appropriate action’ in teaching AAL speakers, and dispel notions that AAL stems from cultural, social, and economic deprivation.