Black English

When I first started reading Jordan's essay I wasn't sure how I would like it. I didn't know what she was trying to say or where she was coming from, but once we "entered" the class room I caught on quickly. The biggest connection that pulled me into this essay was The Color Purple (I read it for my jr. project in highschool). Jordan was shocked when her class couldn't respond at first and then said they couldn't understand it when they were talking in the same dialect that the book was written. This experience made the class want to learn how to write and read black english and it made me realize that we talk differently from the way we read and write. I really liked how through out the essay Jordan shows us the great strides they make with their black english and their set backs (Murder of Willie's brother; deciding to write in black english). Jordan concludes her essay by sharing Willie's essay about his brother's murder. This to me was a very strong conclusion to her essay, and it made me sit back and really think about what she wrote and how true it still is today.