Under Surveillance: Interrogating Linguistic Policing in Black Girlhood

Authors

Pamela Jones, Bank Street College of EducationFollow

Abstract

Abstract

The youngest of Black girls are scrutinized for their language choices and surveilled on the basis of their ability to shift out of their vernacular and into Standard English (SE). In this essay, I revisit my own Black girlhood (Brown, 2013) to interrogate how those in schooled contexts compelled me to deny the “skin that (I) speak” (Delpit, 2002, p. xvii). Using intersectionality as my theoretical frame (Collins, 2000), I arrive at new understandings about resisting multiple oppressions and consider possible interventions at the school level.

Keywords: Black girlhood, intersectionality, African-American Language (AAL), identity, code-meshing.

Author Biography

Pamela M. Jones, MSEd, MPA, is an Advisor and Instructor in the Childhood Special and General Education program at Bank Street College. Before joining Bank Street, Pam worked as a special educator in the elementary grades. Pam earned a Masters in Public Administration from Columbia University and a Masters of Science in Education from Bank Street College of Education. Currently, she is pursuing her doctorate in literacy at New York University.

Recommended Citation

Jones, P. (2017). Under Surveillance: Interrogating Linguistic Policing in Black Girlhood. Occasional Paper Series, (38). DOI: https://doi.org/10.58295/2375-3668.1130