Rhetorical Analysis

June Jordan (1936 – 2002) was a poet, activist, journalist, essayist and teacher. Prolific and passionate, she was an influential voice who lived and wrote on the frontlines of American poetry. The piece was originally published in On Call: Political Essays (Boston: South End Press, 1985).The Boston: South End Press is a non profit book publisher thats known for publishing works focused on social justice and economic injustice which perfectly fits the genre of this piece. Speaking of the genre, this text falls under narrative essay as the narrator speaks about their personal experience and encounters.

                                                                           It can be assumed the context of the piece was takes post segregation some time in the 1980s as that fits the timeline of the publication and the context of the story and other hints such as willie speaking about apartheid so it is around that time period and also classrooms consist of both black and white students and a black professor this is indicated when by the author who mentions they have a large class with 4-6 white students. 

               The purpose of the piece started with a dive into the english vernacular used by people of african descent at that time and how it is viewed in society . This seen throughout the piece for instance, when the author ‘June’ introduces her classroom of the mostly black students to “The Color Puprle” a literary piece made by a black author using AAVE(African American Vernacular English) and speaking of an afro-american experience, they heavily criticised the piece that was  held in  high regard by the members  of the white community. Her students claimed that the characters from the piece ‘spoke funny’ and couldnt understand the text though it was in the same syntax that they spoke and shows how this part of their culture instead being stand alone is considered a broken form of english and is often discouraged and beaten out of children.This is seen when  willie interacts with others and indicated what he is studying and was often met with negative criticism regarding his choice in topic and again when the newspaper rejected the piece and it was indicated that had they used standard english that may not be case. This is indicated when the author states “Everyone in the room realized that our decision in favor of Black English had doomed our writings, even as the distinctive reality of our Black lives always has doomed our efforts to “be who we been” in this country.”

                                                                              The main target demographic of this piece seems to be speakers of AAVE but also those who dont making the target demographic . It shows that AAVE is a part of black culture and should not be treated as less than such though it commonly is. This is commonly seen as students from the author’s class despite being afro-american find difficulty in using writing in that way it went against everything they were taught and had to strive for “ incorrect english”.The piece also showcasesthe black experience and difficulties they may endure and is shown when the author states “even as the distinctive reality of our Black lives always has doomed our efforts to “be who we been” in this country.”.