John Russell Rickford's Books

Spoken Soul

The Story of Black English

By: John Russell Rickford,Russell John Rickford

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Spoken Soul

The Story of Black English

By: John Russell Rickford,Russell John Rickford

In Praise of Spoken Soul: The Story of Black English "Spoken Soul brilliantly fills a huge gap. . . . a delightfully readable introduction to the elegant interweave between the language and its culture." –Ralph W. Fasold, Georgetown university "A lively, well-documented history of Black English . . . that will enlighten and inform not only educators, for whom it should be required reading, but all who value and question language." –Kirkus Reviews "Spoken Soul is a must read for anyone who is interested in the connection between language and identity." –Chicago Defender Claude Brown called Black English "Spoken Soul." Toni Morrison said, "It's a love, a passion. Its function is like a preacher’s: to make you stand out of your seat, make you lose yourself and hear yourself. The worst of all possible things that could happen would be to lose that language." Now renowned linguist John R. Rickford and journalist Russell J. Rickford provide the definitive guide to African American vernacular English–from its origins and features to its powerful fascination for society at large.

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Page Count

180

Publisher

Turner Publishing Company

Published Date

ISBN 10

0470247843

ISBN 13

9780470247846

Speaking my Soul

Race, Life and Language

By: John Russell Rickford

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Speaking my Soul

Race, Life and Language

By: John Russell Rickford

Speaking My Soul is the honest story of linguist John R. Rickford’s life from his early years as the youngest of ten children in Guyana to his status as Emeritus Professor of Linguistics at Stanford, of the transformation of his identity from colored or mixed race in Guyana to black in the USA, and of his work championing Black Talk and its speakers. This is an inspiring story of the personal and professional growth of a black scholar, from his life as an immigrant to the USA to a world-renowned expert who has made a leading contribution to the study of African American life, history, language and culture. In this engaging memoir, Rickford recalls landmark events for his racial identity like being elected president of the Black Student Association at the University of California, Santa Cruz; learning from black expeditions to the South Carolina Sea Islands, Jamaica, Belize and Ghana; and meeting or interviewing civil rights icons like Huey P. Newton, Rosa Parks and South African Dennis Brutus. He worked with Rachel Jeantel, Trayvon Martin’s good friend, and key witness in the trial of George Zimmerman for his murder—Zimmerman’s exoneration sparked the Black Lives Matter movement. With a foreword by poet John Agard, this is the account of a former Director of African and African American Studies whose work has increased our understanding of the richness of African American language and our awareness of the education and criminal justice challenges facing African Americans. It is key reading for students and faculty in linguistics, mixed race studies, African American studies and social justice.

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Page Count

208

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1000506991

ISBN 13

9781000506990

Speaking my Soul

Race, Life and Language

By: John Russell Rickford

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Speaking my Soul

Race, Life and Language

By: John Russell Rickford

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208

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Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

1000506991

ISBN 13

9781000506990

Spoken Soul

The Story of Black English

By: John Russell Rickford,Russell John Rickford

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Spoken Soul

The Story of Black English

By: John Russell Rickford,Russell John Rickford

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180

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Turner Publishing Company

Published Date

ISBN 10

0470247843

ISBN 13

9780470247846

Variation, Versatility and Change in Sociolinguistics and Creole Studies

By: John Russell Rickford

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Variation, Versatility and Change in Sociolinguistics and Creole Studies

By: John Russell Rickford

By the award-winning former president of the Linguistic Society of America, this collection of some of John Russell Rickford's pioneering works shows how linguists in sociolinguistics and creole studies can benefit from utilizing data, theories and methods from each other, as they more frequently did in the 1960s and 1970s, when both subfields, in their modern forms at least, were getting started. The volume addresses fundamental sociolinguistic topics such as social class, style, fieldwork, speech community, sociolinguistic competence and language attitudes with data from Guyanese and other Caribbean creoles. Recurrent concepts are also considered including language versatility, variation and change, vernacular use, school success and criminal justice in African America and the Caribbean, using models, case studies and methodologies from sociolinguistics. Theoretical and applied scholars, students apprehensive about sociolinguistic fieldwork, and those considering dynamic methods like implicational scaling about which little is written in linguistics textbooks, will find this volume invaluable. Includes a Foreword by Gillian Sankoff.

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Page Count

389

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1108577385

ISBN 13

9781108577380

Talking Back, Talking Black

Truths About America's Lingua Franca

By: John McWhorter

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Talking Back, Talking Black

Truths About America's Lingua Franca

By: John McWhorter

“Superb.” —Steven Pinker “An explanation, a defense, and, most heartening, a celebration. . . . McWhorter demonstrates the ‘legitimacy’ of Black English by uncovering its complexity and sophistication, as well as the still unfolding journey that has led to its creation. . . . [His] intelligent breeziness is the source of the book’s considerable charm.” —New Yorker “Talking Back, Talking Black is [McWhorter’s] case for the acceptance of black English as a legitimate American dialect. . . . He ably and enthusiastically breaks down the mechanics.” —New York Times Book Review Linguists have been studying Black English as a speech variety for years, arguing to the public that it is different from Standard English, not a degradation of it. Yet false assumptions and controversies still swirl around what it means to speak and sound “black.” In his first book devoted solely to the form, structure, and development of Black English, John McWhorter clearly explains its fundamentals and rich history while carefully examining the cultural, educational, and political issues that have undermined recognition of this transformative, empowering dialect. Talking Back, Talking Black takes us on a fascinating tour of a nuanced and complex language that has moved beyond America’s borders to become a dynamic force for today’s youth culture around the world. John McWhorter teaches linguistics, Western civilization, music history, and American studies at Columbia University. A New York Times best-selling author and TED speaker, he is a columnist for CNN.com, a regular contributor to the Atlantic, a frequent guest on CNN and MSNBC, and the host of Slate’s language podcast, Lexicon Valley. His books on language include The Power of Babel; Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue; Words on the Move; Talking Back, Talking Black; and The Creole Debate.

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Page Count

116

Publisher

Bellevue Literary Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1942658214

ISBN 13

9781942658214

This Is the Voice

By: John Colapinto

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This Is the Voice

By: John Colapinto

Introduction: Personally speaking -- Baby talk -- Origins -- Emotion -- Language -- Sex and gender -- The voice in society -- The voice of leadership & persuasion -- Swan song.

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Page Count

320

Publisher

Simon and Schuster

Published Date

ISBN 10

1982128755

ISBN 13

9781982128753

Expelling Public Schools

How Antiracist Politics Enable School Privatization in Newark

By: John Arena

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Expelling Public Schools

How Antiracist Politics Enable School Privatization in Newark

By: John Arena

Exploring the role of identitarian politics in the privatization of Newark’s public school system In Expelling Public Schools, John Arena explores the more than two-decade struggle to privatize public schools in Newark, New Jersey—a conflict that is raging in cities across the country—from the vantage point of elites advancing the pro-privatization agenda and their grassroots challengers. Analyzing the unsuccessful effort of Cory Booker—Newark’s leading pro-privatization activist and mayor—to generate popular support for the agenda, and Booker’s rival and ultimate successor Ras Baraka’s eventual galvanization of the charter movement, Arena argues that Baraka’s black radical politics cloaked a revanchist agenda of privatization. Expelling Public Schools reveals the political rise of Booker and Baraka, their one-time rivalry and subsequent alliance, and what this particular case study illuminates about contemporary post–civil rights Black politics. Ultimately, Expelling Public Schools is a critique of Black urban regime politics and the way in which antiracist messaging obscures real class divisions, interests, and ideological diversity.

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Page Count

419

Publisher

U of Minnesota Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1452970041

ISBN 13

9781452970042

A Post-liberal Approach to Language Policy in Education

By: John E. Petrovic

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A Post-liberal Approach to Language Policy in Education

By: John E. Petrovic

This provocative book examines the strengths and weaknesses of liberal political theory to inform language policy in a way that promotes individual autonomy while not reifying 'language'. Important topics of discussion include the language/identity link, language rights, language varieties, and academic language.

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Page Count

137

Publisher

Multilingual Matters

Published Date

ISBN 10

178309284X

ISBN 13

9781783092840

Governed by Affect

Hot Cognition and the End of Cold War Psychology

By: Michael Pettit

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Governed by Affect

Hot Cognition and the End of Cold War Psychology

By: Michael Pettit

Why do ordinary people turn to psychology in the hopes of making themselves healthier, wealthier, and happier? Governed by Affect offers a multi-sited history of psychology and its role in American public life. Focusing on a series of transformations since the 1970s, the book examines the rise of psychology as a health science and the discipline's growing entanglements with public policy inspired new theories of inattentive and unconscious affect, which have come to structure health care, education, the economy, and how we understand ourselves.

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Page Count

377

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0197621856

ISBN 13

9780197621851

Betty Shabazz, Surviving Malcolm X

A Remarkable Story of Survival and Faith Before and After Malcolm X

By: Russell John Rickford

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Betty Shabazz, Surviving Malcolm X

A Remarkable Story of Survival and Faith Before and After Malcolm X

By: Russell John Rickford

The gunmen rose from the crowd and set their sights on Malcolm X. The thunder of shotgun blasts ripped through the ballroom, and Betty Shabazz turned to see her husband float backward, keel over and crash to the ballroom stage. She grabbed her children, hurling them beneath a booth and shielding them with her body while the room erupted into screams and chaos. As she lay there squeezing her family, the Betty Shabazz who was the dutiful and obedient wife of the Civil Rights Movement's most feared leader ceased to be, and the woman who emerged would become one of the greatest heroines of our day. Betty Shabazz, Surviving Malcolm X is the first major biography of Dr. Betty Shabazz, the unsung and controversial champion of the Civil Rights era. From her early marriage to black liberation's raging voice through her evolution into a powerful and outspoken African-American leader, Betty Shabazz was in constant struggle to bring freedom and justice to her people. Yet, at times her greatest fight was to struggle through tragedy and hold on to her faith amidst the stereotypes forced on her by a culture of racism and the very people she was trying to liberate. To read Betty Shabazz, Surviving Malcolm X is to experience this remarkable life. With eloquent and intimate prose, Russell J. Rickford puts you on the scene as a young Betty Sanders is taken in by foster parents after a troubled childhood. You are there as Malcolm X comes home from a hard day of railing against oppression to hug his children, dote on his wife and laugh. You dive under the table at the Audubon Ballroom as bullets strike Malcolm down. You struggle with Betty Shabazz as she fights to raise six girls alone while earning a doctorate. You stand triumphant with her as she claims her own individuality and fights to build respect for Malcolm. And you stand watch with her daughters as Betty passes away, a victim of yet another tragedy, but this time after a life lived full. Russell J. Rickford has conducted extensive research to compile this biography, interviewing more than seventy of Betty Shabazz's family members, friends, colleagues and contemporaries as well as researching countless records and documents, including recently declassified FBI, CIA and New York Police files. This is the first complete look at the life of Betty Shabazz and a new insight into the man who was known as Malcolm X. Betty Shabazz is the story of a strong woman who faced incredible tragedy and emerged triumphant, compassionate and always full of life. In the end, it is the story of a nation torn apart by hatred learning to heal and forgive.

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Page Count

658

Publisher

Sourcebooks, Inc.

Published Date

ISBN 10

140225251X

ISBN 13

9781402252518

Variation, Versatility and Change in Sociolinguistics and Creole Studies

By: John Russell Rickford

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Variation, Versatility and Change in Sociolinguistics and Creole Studies

By: John Russell Rickford

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Page Count

389

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

1108577385

ISBN 13

9781108577380

We are an African People

Independent Education, Black Power, and the Radical Imagination

By: Russell John Rickford

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We are an African People

Independent Education, Black Power, and the Radical Imagination

By: Russell John Rickford

By 1970, more than 60 'Pan African nationalist' schools, from preschools to post-secondary ventures, had appeared in urban settings across the United States. The small, independent enterprises were often accused of teaching hate and were routinely harassed by authorities. Yet these institutions served as critical mechanisms for transmitting black consciousness. In this book, based on his Bancroft Award-winning dissertation, historian Russell Rickford traces the brief lives of these autonomous black institutions created to claim some of the self-determination that the integrationist civil rights movement had failed to provide.

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Page Count

368

Published Date

ISBN 10

0190455632

ISBN 13

9780190455637

Betty Shabazz, Surviving Malcolm X

A Remarkable Story of Survival and Faith Before and After Malcolm X

By: Russell John Rickford

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Betty Shabazz, Surviving Malcolm X

A Remarkable Story of Survival and Faith Before and After Malcolm X

By: Russell John Rickford

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Solve jigsaw puzzle

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Page Count

658

Publisher

Sourcebooks, Inc.

Published Date

ISBN 10

140225251X

ISBN 13

9781402252518

Book's by John Russell Rickford

Spoken Soul

Spoken Soul

Speaking my Soul

Speaking my Soul

Speaking my Soul

Speaking my Soul

Spoken Soul

Spoken Soul

Variation, Versatility and Change in Sociolinguistics and Creole Studies

Variation, Versatility and Change in Sociolinguistics and Creole Studies

Talking Back, Talking Black

Talking Back, Talking Black

This Is the Voice

This Is the Voice

Expelling Public Schools

Expelling Public Schools

A Post-liberal Approach to Language Policy in Education

A Post-liberal Approach to Language Policy in Education

Governed by Affect

Governed by Affect

Betty Shabazz, Surviving Malcolm X

Betty Shabazz, Surviving Malcolm X

Variation, Versatility and Change in Sociolinguistics and Creole Studies

Variation, Versatility and Change in Sociolinguistics and Creole Studies

We are an African People

We are an African People

Betty Shabazz, Surviving Malcolm X

Betty Shabazz, Surviving Malcolm X

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