Why for Black speakers, despite what they are told, using ‘Standard English’ will not lead to acceptance

Many believe that if a Black person simply speaks ‘properly’, ‘sounds like a native English speaker’, or uses ‘Standard English’, their language will be accepted in the academic spaces of universities and schools. But new research from Patriann Smith shows that using ‘Standard English’ in such spaces within the US when a speaker is a Black immigrant may not always translate into acceptance. She argues that Black speakers would do well to reject the myth that trying to speak ‘Standard English’ will result in acceptance and success.