Kirsten Smith Professor Hofmann ENGL 1101 September 16, 2013 Writing Draft I was born in San Diego,

California and lived there until I was five years old. My Mother was born and raised in the South and my Father spent most of his childhood in California and North Carolina. We moved to North Carolina to be closer to family, and the two worlds of West and East were so vastly different than anything Id ever experienced. I spent my first year in North Carolina in my grandmothers house. I remember her unusually loud voice greeting us at the door, How yall doin? Did you have a niiice trip? I was to find out later that she was an elementary school teacher of Gastonia for 20 years. I quickly adjusted to the weird accents, buttery, salty food, and the sticky humid weather. At a young age I didnt notice that I sounded different than my Grandma. I just thought my Mom spoke properly because she is very smart. As my family settled in a house of our own and I made relationships with friends at school of all different shapes, sizes, and colors, my Mother was the first to notice small changes in my speech. My mother would often stop me in the middle of a sentence and correct my pronunciation. This would irritate me and it seemed she was more focused on my grammar than my story. She would tell me to pronounce the t in that, it is not tha it is tha-t. If I made several pronunciation mistakes in one speech than she would criticize the school systems lack of emphasis on grammar. It didnt surprise me when I started to make more black friends that my mom had more objections to my speech habits. I knew that African-Americans sounded different

and that it wasnt the correct way to speak in formal settings but I thought, being that my Mom is black, that conversing in this new dialect should be natural for her. I wasnt expecting the harsh sentiment my words were met with. Apparently, speaking what I now know to be Ebonics, is ignorant and disrespectful to the millions of black people who dedicated and gave their lives for our education. I was ashamed but I felt like she was overreacting, most black people I associated with, including people in our family spoke this way and all of them cant be oblivious to her accusations. Being biracial has opened my eyes to the racism that still exists in todays society. I witness the stereotypes created on both sides and I can sometimes be the victim of these judgments. I realize that many biracial children feel the need to identify with only black or only white people because it gives them a sense of belonging. I think that is because its so hard to find a clique thats mixed the same way we are, or because it is increasingly more common for children to be raised by only one parent, exposing them to only one side of their culture. For me, grade school has always been a game of which racial group will be more accepting of my background, usually foreigners. With white friends I was told they considered me to be a white person because of the way I talk, the music I listen to, and the boys I liked, but my black friends considered me black for those same reasons. This is because they did not recognize that I adjust my language and interests to fit my surroundings. I love both black music and white music and both black and white culture. My ability to code switch and has made me who I am today. Code switching has been a part of many foreign cultures in the United States. As I weaned myself off of Ebonics in elementary school I began to observe how it affected the people around me. It is a very uncomfortable topic that creates tension in many public places. It is natural for humans to want to blend with their environment. Attention attracts ridicule and

judgment that can be detrimental to later successes. I have witnessed code switching at school and even in my family. I believe it is useful, but overall harmful to a persons sense of self. Who is to say that Ebonics or a southern drawl is the wrong way of speaking English? Thoughts of that nature harm and disrespect a persons family, culture, and upbringing. Yet, I still cant decide If I support Ebonics or not. Some people would say that Ebonics is not its own language, but simply a slang form of English. Others would propose that Ebonics has been engrained in African American culture since slavery beginning with the lack of equal opportunity in receiving an education. My mom has views of her own. I interviewed my mother and I asked her about her views regarding Ebonics. Specifically, I asked her if she ever was introduced to Ebonics in her home which she speedily replied No, because my family was educated and we didnt believe in encouraging illiteracy. I did not find this surprising since she was the same way with me. I also asked my mother about what she feels when she hears people speaking Ebonics. My mother said, I feel so sad for the people who think its cute or cool to speak that way. I know that they were raised around but it is something that they have to realize is not beneficial for them academically and from a career standpoint. I finally asked what she thinks should be done to reduce the use of Ebonics. She replied, It has to start home. As much as teachers try in the classroom, no progress will occur until Moms and Dads recognize the damage theyre doing by encouraging their children to speak incorrectly. It shines a dull light on the black community and strengthens the prejudices felt by both cultures. I found myself agreeing with many of the things my mother was telling me. This is probably mostly because I grew up around this sentiment but I also experienced Ebonics for myself during those highly impressionable years of elementary. I now look back and realize that too many

people have fought for my rights and education for me to blatantly ignore what my teachers taught me at school. I also have a friend who is biracial like me. We talked about her feelings towards Ebonics and its effects on her life. She did not grow up around her African American father and spent all of her childhood surrounded by her mother and her mothers family. She tells me, Everyone says I speak like a white girl. They look at me and they think that Im black because of my darker skin and then they think I should speak like a black person. I always ask them how does a black person speak and they look at me like I should know. They think that just because I look a certain way I will speak a certain way. Not only that, but they expect me to speak incorrectly. She grew up with a predominantly white family and I grew up with both cultures, yet we both have come to the same conclusion. Ebonics is overall detrimental to the black community because it is the remnants of a way of life that kept us in bondage and without the freedom to educate ourselves and become equals with white men and women. I dont think that we should forget that history or not embrace as our own, but simply recognize it as our inspiration to climb to the highest heights education can provide and that was once prohibited to us before. Its like my opinion of the Confederate flag. Some people fly it because they say they want to remember history. I think you can remember history just fine without flying a flag that represents slavery, same with Ebonics.