First, before we can discuss whether or not African American students should have access to language support services, we must first understand what an ELL student is. “English language learners are students who speak a language other than English as a first language and who are in the process of acquiring English as a second or additional language. They do not have complete knowledge of English and we can define them as “emerging bilinguals”” (Orosco, Almanza de Schonewise, De Onnis, Klingner and Hoover, 2008). Other researchers such as Walqui (2005) point out that some ELL students are true immigrants to the United States while others are born here in the United States. All sources on the subject emphasize that all ELL cases are unique and dependent on the student's education. Almost all sources, especially the Linguistic Society of America, state that Ebonics is a complete language (Rickford). However, as was noted in the 1996 Oakland case, a negative reaction can occur in every aspect of the community when Ebonics is labeled as the student's first language (Nunberg). What we need to change is not whether or not we will label Ebonics as a first language, but rather change the requirements for ELL students. Sylvia G., Rousseau currently argues that African American students should have access to language support services. He gave a speech on 21 April 2014 in Los Angeles where he laid out his key arguments: Cognitive structures expressed in the home language are no longer acceptable and support for acquiring a standardized language is absent. The distinction in academic achievement among African American students, who are categorically classified as English-only with no assessment… middle of paper… American English). Retrieved 53, 2014, from Linguistic Society of America: http://www.linguisticsociety.org/content/what-ebonics-african-american-englishRousseau, S. (2014). An inclusive approach to English as a second language for standard English learners. Los Angeles: University of Southern California.Rousseau, S. (2014). Standard English learners. Presentation to the General Committee (p. 17). Los Angeles: University of Southern California.Smitherman, Geneva (1997). Moving beyond resistance: Black and African American youth. Journal of Black Psychology, 23 (3), 227-231.Tatum, A. W. (2005). Teaching reading to Black male adolescents: Closing the achievement gap. Portland, I: Stenhouse Publishers Walqui, A. (2005). Who are our students? In P. Richard-Amato and M. Snow, Academic Success for English Language Learners (pp. 7-21). White Plains, NY: Longman.