Other People’s English: Code Meshing, Code Switching, and African American Literacy

This book presents an empirically grounded argument for a new approach of teaching writing to diverse students in the English language arts classroom. Responding to advocates of the “code-switching” approach, four uniquely qualified authors make the case for “code-meshing”—allowing students to use standard English, African American English, and other Englishes in formal academic writing and classroom discussions. This practical resource translates theory into a concrete roadmap for pre- and in-service teachers who wish to use code-meshing in the classroom to extend students’ abilities as writers and thinkers and to foster inclusiveness and creativity. The text provides activities and examples from middle and high schools as well as college and addresses the question of how to advocate for code-meshing with skeptical administrators, parents, and students.

From Bourgeois to Boojie: Black Middle-Class Performances

Examines how generations of African Americans perceive, proclaim, and name the combined performance of race and class across genres.

Vershawn A. Young and Bridget Harris Tsemo. From Bourgeois to Boojie: Black Middle-Class Performances. Wayne State University Press, 2011.