Literacy
...nd black English for state of grace. many whites and upperclass blacks she converses with as a young girl. For instance, when her family takes a trip to visit relatives in South Carolina, Mellix writes of sitting in her grandmother's house with her brothers and sisters and "speaking only when prompted." This demonstrates the profound difficulty Mellix faces as a young girl in order to maintain the façade that she is as comfortable with standard English as her other relatives. Moreover, by stating she only spoke "when promted", Mellix not only demonstrates her difficulty with standard English, but also her belief of the inferiority of her everyday vernacular. According to her parents, Mellix should "know better than" to speak in "country English". Therefore, as a young girl, she deems it necessary to conceal her native tongue in the prescence of whites and "proper" blacks, like her relatives, many whites and upperclass blacks she converses with as a young girl. For instance, when her family takes a trip to visit relatives in South Carolina, Mellix writes of sitting in her grandmother's house with her brothers and sisters and "speaking only when prompted." This de...