Ebonics and educational policy: Some issues for the next millennium

The recent debate over the Oakland (California) public schools' Ebonics proposal attracted considerable national attention, yet the ethnically identifiable language of African Americans-and what to do about it-has long been the subject of controversy. This article discusses historical and contemporary issues surrounding this debate and suggests lessons to be learned from it. Chief among the former is whether teachers should negate Ebonics or use it as a bridge for teaching Standard English. Chief among the latter is the need for schools to identify strategies for teaching Standard English to Ebonics speakers that validate these students' language and culture.