While his choice of term, “Negro dialect”, is jarring, being able to use or not use it according to circumstances and audience is the sort of option English teachers struggle with.

All else being equal, many employers will pick the applicant who employs standard grammar and diction over one who does not—and this applies to all colors and origins of Americans.

The struggle for teachers is how to encourage and reward ‘standard’ grammar without, somehow, abetting racism/classism. Standard English is not better than other patterns, and may well be more prosaic and static. It is, however, the common currency of speech in most U.S. locations.

Is that a good thing?