It is the most vivid and crucial key to identity: It reveals the private identity, and connects one with, or divorces one from, the larger, public, or communal identity.
Where Jenkins argues SAE mastery for workplace power, Baldwin reframes power as already embedded in Black English’s identity/politics—setting up a productive tension for synthesis.
Yes, you read this correctly: standard written English is not an objectiveset of criteria.
Standard vs. plurality: This chapter challenges the “objective” status of standard written English, contrasting with Jenkins’s claim that mastering a single standard is central to professional success.
(1) Iowa Republican Senator Chuck Grassley sent two tweets to President Obamain June 2009 (Werner).
Pragmatics vs. plurality: Young promotes blending codes in public/professional writing (e.g., Grassley tweets), while Jenkins urges mastery of a single standard for workplace credibility.