The problem of the language line: Cultural and social reproduction of hegemonic linguistic structures for learners of African descent in the USA

This essay uses W.E.B. Du Bois's prophetic analysis of the color line problem to forecast the problem of the 21^st century: the problem of the language line. In this analysis, the centrality of language for learners of African descent in the US is front center as well as the relevant conceptual lenses that help to comprehend hegemonic linguistic structures in schooling and society. Namely, I juxtapose language beside cultural and social reproduction, hegemony, and race, and articulate the complex nature of knowing how and why the language issues continue to surround the American learner of African descent. These linguistic conceptual lenses help to refute the often narrow and simple explanations and suggest where Du Bois's legacy remains both unfulfilled and compounded by the language line.