When our people were brought to this country and enslaved, we came from hundreds of different tribes and communities. Hardly any of us spoke the same language, but we all were subjected to the English language immediately.
When we quickly learned English, we had one version for our community – and one for those outside of our community. This helped us form common cultural bonds.
We developed a unique – but consistent – way of speaking English. Dropping the endings off of words, for example, is a normal part of English across the globe, but we are the ones penalized for it. This habit is as American as the white hatred that created it!
The Northern Subject Rule, or the mixing of singular and plural between verbs and subjects, was in effect long before subject-verb agreement became standard. We also have more present tenses than standard English.
The way our ancestors learned to speak English helped save lives and helped us to survive white oppression in this country. Our vernacular is a direct result of their brilliant minds and our shared culture.
The way we speak English is a positive part of our culture. It is evidence that our people mastered a language forced upon us by racists and made it our own! Black excellence is all good!