if God could speak she sound a lot like
me she dragged her aides and she dropped
her geez she leave daddy behind no pun
intended
trading an AE and I for a while because
it’s flyer if you don’t know how to do
it you’re a non proprietor I’m stylin
and profilin with these words I’m trying
to spit some fire see they tell me I’m a
gangster I got a lot of bass in my voice
Sojourner Truth and cardi B in my makeup
see there’s no Webster dictionary that
can correct this no standard English
translation for the stories I have to
tell so you gonna have to hold that get
out bail cuz I’m already too woke so
what’s poppin Ted what’s really good
you’re trying to tell me you don’t
understand because I’m from the hood
that can’t be true when I play me go
shop bump along to wrapping every word
even a forbidden fruit so you’re gonna
have to learn to fill me mixing mixing
letters making words like out for me see
languages are proxy for my identity so
let my history flow deep fry jazz
hip-hop and soul long hair weaves
acrylics and cornrows segregation is
slavery reconstruction and Massa patient
black disassociation Y glorification are
you listening to me
are you listening to me are you
listen to me when I say this closely
we’ve been too accommodating to
apologetic curating our identities to
fit into your politics but that’s done
let me ask you a question when do I get
to walk in the world to be authentic are
you going to keep mapping my culture on
the white body for aesthetic see y’all
tell me the language and the culture I
alone at home puts me at risk but boy I
know you lyin cuz I haven’t been the
collagen back look at where we’re at to
the Ted stage and beyond black girl
overflow overflow which a ghetto but
make sure you pull out a juxtaposition
just to flex don’t like hello my name is
Nia and I’m here to talk to y’all about
how is everybody today good so I’m here
to talk to you about code-switching
which is the practice of alternating
between two languages or dialects in the
same conversation or sentence like I
just did Exhibit A so does anybody in
here Co switch okay so y’all feel me so
I learned the code-switch about the
summer of 2003 I was nine years old and
I was going to fresh air fun camp it was
the first time even a freshman I see
it’s the first time I ever been away
from home and away from my mom so the
point of fresh air front is to bus
inner-city black and brown kids to rural
suburban areas along the East Coast and
Canada
I never been outside of New York City
never been along the east coast or
Canada so I was nervous I was petrified
honestly since I was shook but I still
did it me and my mother spent a long
eight summers together and it was time
for me to spread my wings so before you
get bused to Massachusetts well that’s
where I came sorry but before you get
bused to your host family you learn
basic things about them age sex race
um I don’t know basic things about your
family and I had never been to a white
person’s house let alone living it for
two weeks at a time when I got off the
bus it was a culture shock but I need to
say that my family was really dope I
went back three years and three years in
a row connectives consecutively but at
dinner when we’d have conversation
they’d ask me about my day and we
debrief and they say how was your day
I’m like it was good I was chillin
they’d be like huh I was like it was
good I was chillin and they’d be like
huh and they’d be and they go on to
correct in our English and that went on
for seven days until under eighth day I
said nothing
we’d go to local country clubs and the
way they would walk over and said can I
interest you in a diet coke and I say
nom Gucci and he’s staying in for about
another 30 seconds he’s like can I
interest you in a diet coke I’m Gucci
thank my host mother would run over and
she’d be like she’s a part of the Fresh
Air Fund program and at that moment I
knew what that meant I knew I could not
walk in this world and be myself I would
get on the bus go back to document where
I was raised and I’d sit in the projects
with my friends and something like you
but I couldn’t code like I could not not
code switch anymore it was reflexive and
for the next 10 years of my life I did
that interviews debates debate preps
internships fellowships college
classrooms and that was my entire life
in the journalism class once I hit once
here at Brandeis my professor was
sounding off about her alkaloids and I
was in the back of the class with my
girl go on with your bad self the whole
class stops my teacher was offended a
Dean had to be involved
and I said nothing the rest of the
semester I failed the class but I didn’t
feel comfortable I didn’t feel
understood
I never feel understood when I talk and
when I was preparing to do this talk
people ask me are you scared you’re
gonna be – get up sis I’m GH e TT o I’m
ghetto get out with an H I’m ghetto but
I’m also educated I’m also articulate I
also get it done so what does that mean
how do we tell marginalized people’s
stories how do we tell my story it don’t
fit in the standard English
there’s no Oxford comma after certain
words I’ll be going to the stores
correct how do we tell marginalize
stories now if you’re in the crowd I
want you to ask yourself a question do
you code-switch and if you do Coates
which one do you have to do it do you
have to do it to survive or you do for
craps and giggles do you do it to be
cool or do you do it to stay alive I do
it to stay alive I do it to navigate my
thank you for this platform and thank
you for listening thank you
me she dragged her aides and she dropped
her geez she leave daddy behind no pun
intended
trading an AE and I for a while because
it’s flyer if you don’t know how to do
it you’re a non proprietor I’m stylin
and profilin with these words I’m trying
to spit some fire see they tell me I’m a
gangster I got a lot of bass in my voice
Sojourner Truth and cardi B in my makeup
see there’s no Webster dictionary that
can correct this no standard English
translation for the stories I have to
tell so you gonna have to hold that get
out bail cuz I’m already too woke so
what’s poppin Ted what’s really good
you’re trying to tell me you don’t
understand because I’m from the hood
that can’t be true when I play me go
shop bump along to wrapping every word
even a forbidden fruit so you’re gonna
have to learn to fill me mixing mixing
letters making words like out for me see
languages are proxy for my identity so
let my history flow deep fry jazz
hip-hop and soul long hair weaves
acrylics and cornrows segregation is
slavery reconstruction and Massa patient
black disassociation Y glorification are
you listening to me
are you listening to me are you
listen to me when I say this closely
we’ve been too accommodating to
apologetic curating our identities to
fit into your politics but that’s done
let me ask you a question when do I get
to walk in the world to be authentic are
you going to keep mapping my culture on
the white body for aesthetic see y’all
tell me the language and the culture I
alone at home puts me at risk but boy I
know you lyin cuz I haven’t been the
collagen back look at where we’re at to
the Ted stage and beyond black girl
overflow overflow which a ghetto but
make sure you pull out a juxtaposition
just to flex don’t like hello my name is
Nia and I’m here to talk to y’all about
how is everybody today good so I’m here
to talk to you about code-switching
which is the practice of alternating
between two languages or dialects in the
same conversation or sentence like I
just did Exhibit A so does anybody in
here Co switch okay so y’all feel me so
I learned the code-switch about the
summer of 2003 I was nine years old and
I was going to fresh air fun camp it was
the first time even a freshman I see
it’s the first time I ever been away
from home and away from my mom so the
point of fresh air front is to bus
inner-city black and brown kids to rural
suburban areas along the East Coast and
Canada
I never been outside of New York City
never been along the east coast or
Canada so I was nervous I was petrified
honestly since I was shook but I still
did it me and my mother spent a long
eight summers together and it was time
for me to spread my wings so before you
get bused to Massachusetts well that’s
where I came sorry but before you get
bused to your host family you learn
basic things about them age sex race
um I don’t know basic things about your
family and I had never been to a white
person’s house let alone living it for
two weeks at a time when I got off the
bus it was a culture shock but I need to
say that my family was really dope I
went back three years and three years in
a row connectives consecutively but at
dinner when we’d have conversation
they’d ask me about my day and we
debrief and they say how was your day
I’m like it was good I was chillin
they’d be like huh I was like it was
good I was chillin and they’d be like
huh and they’d be and they go on to
correct in our English and that went on
for seven days until under eighth day I
said nothing
we’d go to local country clubs and the
way they would walk over and said can I
interest you in a diet coke and I say
nom Gucci and he’s staying in for about
another 30 seconds he’s like can I
interest you in a diet coke I’m Gucci
thank my host mother would run over and
she’d be like she’s a part of the Fresh
Air Fund program and at that moment I
knew what that meant I knew I could not
walk in this world and be myself I would
get on the bus go back to document where
I was raised and I’d sit in the projects
with my friends and something like you
but I couldn’t code like I could not not
code switch anymore it was reflexive and
for the next 10 years of my life I did
that interviews debates debate preps
internships fellowships college
classrooms and that was my entire life
in the journalism class once I hit once
here at Brandeis my professor was
sounding off about her alkaloids and I
was in the back of the class with my
girl go on with your bad self the whole
class stops my teacher was offended a
Dean had to be involved
and I said nothing the rest of the
semester I failed the class but I didn’t
feel comfortable I didn’t feel
understood
I never feel understood when I talk and
when I was preparing to do this talk
people ask me are you scared you’re
gonna be – get up sis I’m GH e TT o I’m
ghetto get out with an H I’m ghetto but
I’m also educated I’m also articulate I
also get it done so what does that mean
how do we tell marginalized people’s
stories how do we tell my story it don’t
fit in the standard English
there’s no Oxford comma after certain
words I’ll be going to the stores
correct how do we tell marginalize
stories now if you’re in the crowd I
want you to ask yourself a question do
you code-switch and if you do Coates
which one do you have to do it do you
have to do it to survive or you do for
craps and giggles do you do it to be
cool or do you do it to stay alive I do
it to stay alive I do it to navigate my
thank you for this platform and thank
you for listening thank you
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