Final answer:
African American children in urban areas struggled linguistically in classrooms due to segregated faculties with inexperienced teachers, a non-inclusive history curriculum, and broader systemic discrimination like redlining leading to under-resourced schools.
Step-by-step explanation:
According to William Labov's work in the 1960s, African American children living in urban areas faced linguistic challenges in the classroom due to various socio-economic factors. One significant factor was that faculty was segregated, leading to inexperienced teachers in predominantly black schools which likely affected the quality of education. Furthermore, the history curriculum often failed to reflect African American experiences and contributions, denying students a reflective cultural education.
Additionally, broader systemic issues stemming from pre-labor market discrimination, such as redlining, resulted in African American families being clustered in under-resourced neighborhoods with underfunded schools. This environment contributed to lower educational attainment compared to their white counterparts, perpetuating the cycle of inequality. Even after the government legally abolished discriminatory labor practices, the lingering effects of those practices continued to negatively affect educational outcomes.
The school experience for African American students was also impacted by a form of cultural imperialism in teaching, which often led to students disparaging their own traditions and languages. This undermined their self-esteem and learning potential within an educational system that was not responsive to their cultural backgrounds.