As a young child I was raised in the Bronx. I can remember my close-knit community like it was yesterday. There were different cultures in my community, but the prominent culture was African-American. The community members had shared common beliefs, culture, and language. This was seen from the eyes of a child. Now as an adult I see things differently. I see how many of my African-American community members were failed: failed by an education system that labeled many of us as uneducated individuals who were just unable to learn what was taught. This was not the fault of the children. We did not understand the way teachers instructed. The children in my community were labeled ignorant because they spoke a different language. They spoke Black English. Members of their community were immersed in their culture where Black English is the spoken language. Outsiders of this community would not understand the signficance of this language....

The purpose of this research project is to see if many of these African-American individual's [sic] who were raised in a predominantly African-American community, which primarily uses Black English, experience language difficulties within their social settings. It will also explore the connection of the use of Black English and cultural identity.