Response #21

Summary
In her article "God Don't Never Change", Geneva Smitherman attempts to explain to her audience that Black English and White English are simply different styles, and they should not be compared to each other to define grammatical correctness. She explains this by giving examples of writing by black students who received bad grades due to their grammar usage. She believes that trying to teach those used to black English white English is oppressive and racist, as well as destructive to their identity.

Synthesis
This article deals a lot with identity, a lot like Flynn and Delpit. It connects with Delpit especially because both Delpit and Smitherman are both discussing the black vs. white English issue. This connects with Gee because black and white English could both be considered as different Discourses.

My Thoughts
I thought these articles were somewhat interesting. I never really had thought about the grammar differences in this way before, and it was interesting to see how the differences in culture can affect written English.

QD
1. Smitherman is using Black Idiom rhetorically because she uses this language in her article, thus supporting her point that it is a style that can be used in academic writing.

2. Language promotes power for specific races and classes because throughout history, the white people have been the dominant race in the American culture, thus it has become standard to use white English, which is oppressive to other cultures, including black culture.