Why We Ain’t Gonna Get Free in One Language | Jamila Craig | TEDxDelthorneWomen
The speaker, a Black queer US-born Afro and non-Latina language Justice practitioner, asserts that liberation requires a commitment to *all* languages, advocating for specific actions to make this multilingual approach practical. This necessity is illustrated by her personal history of code-switching and her professional ability to interpret across multiple languages, from Spanish to Jamaican Patois. The core recommendation is for communities to learn more languages, budget for multilingual communication, and create more online content in non-English languages.
## Speakers & Context
- Speaker: Black queer US-born Afro and non-Latina language Justice practitioner.
- Speaker's ancestral connection to languages: Black English and Spanglish.
- Speaker is fluent in standardized US English.
- Speaker's field: Human rights and social justice advocacy, with over two decades of experience.
- Contextual example: Interpreting during a tour of Goree Island in Senegal, where she interpreted from the Senegalese Wolof language into Spanish for black people.
- The conversation frames the question: *"what should be our language of Liberation?"*
## Theses & Positions
- **Language Justice Principle:** The goal is to create multilingual spaces that allow people to choose and use the language that makes them feel most powerful.
- **Critique of Dominance:** Language Justice spaces must not privilege one dominant language.
- **Dual Nature of Language:** Language can cause both revisiting of trauma and the experience of joy.
- **Code-Switching as Strategy:** Historically, speaking "proper English" was emphasized by family to secure education and financial stability, but this also represents the imposition of where and why one should code-switch.
- **Intersectionality of Oppression:** There is a noticeable entanglement of anti-blackness with the push to code-switch.
- **Goal of Liberation:** No single language can achieve collective liberation; both race and language must be integrated into the pursuit of liberation.
- **Warning:** *"There can be no Collective Liberation in an anti-black world."*
## Concepts & Definitions
- **Language Justice:** A principle calling for the creation of multilingual spaces that encourage the autonomy of people to choose and use the language that makes them feel most powerful.
- **Code-Switching:** The act of alternating between two or more languages or varieties of language in conversation; was historically connected to work and education for financial security.
- **Multilingual Space:** A community environment that intentionally recognizes and supports multiple languages, rather than favoring one dominant language.
- **Black Language Justice:** The practice of centering Black language, Black culture, and Black identity within the framework of Language Justice.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- **Interpretation as Action:** Interpreting from Wolof into Spanish at Goree Island ensured that a message about the "door of no return" was accessible to the black community.
- **Language Learning for Mobility:** The ability to speak Spanish when broke in Maryland allowed the speaker to secure housing for her daughter by speaking to the homeowner in the native language.
- **Language as Advocacy Tool:** The speaker's proficiency in multiple languages (including Portuguese and French) was deemed exponentially more valuable for her family and community than her law degree.
- **Intersectional Analysis:** The concept that struggles like disability justice, climate change, and wealth gaps disproportionately affect darker-skinned people globally.
## Timeline & Sequence
- **Early Life:** Mama emphasized "speaking proper English" as a pathway out of poverty.
- **Seventh Grade:** First critical moment recognizing the link between language, liberation, and pro-Black solidarity after a colonizer dismissed Spanish learning due to the speaker's race.
- **2015:** Founding of Jami Linguists to intentionally mobilize a community centering Black language/culture.
- **Childhood:** Growing up between a predominantly white/suburban world and a predominantly black and Latina hometown of Harvard, Connecticut.
- **2020:** Increased global focus on state-sanctioned violence against black bodies (e.g., US, Brazil, France, Colombia) provided a tangible connection between language learning and pro-Black solidarity.
## Named Entities
- **Goree Island:** Location in Senegal, West Africa, where enslaved Africans passed through the "door of no return."
- **Senegal:** Country where Goree Island is located.
- **Harvard, Connecticut:** The speaker's predominantly black and Latina hometown.
- **Buenos Aires:** Location in Argentina where the speaker studied for six months.
- **Brooklyn, New York:** Where the speaker's father was born and raised.
- **Jami Linguists:** Organization founded by the speaker (name means "Community").
- **Jamaica:** Mentioned in relation to the Caribbean culture and language.
- **Afro-Colombiana:** The speaker's Afro-Colombian child.
## Numbers & Data
- Duration of experience: **More than two decades**.
- Estimated African population transported to Goree Island: **20 million**.
- Age fluency achieved in Spanish: **21**.
- Study duration in Argentina: **6 months**.
- Percentage of the world's population speaking English: **Less than 20%**.
- Percentage of the world's online content in English: **More than 54%**.
## Examples & Cases
- **Goree Island Interpretation:** Interpreting Wolof into Spanish about the slave trade for black people who would not have understood the message in English.
- **Early Language Dismissal:** A colonizer telling a seventh grader learning Spanish, *"what do you want to be a maid when you grow up."*
- **Housing Search:** Using Spanish in Maryland to convince a homeowner despite poor credit, leading to a successful rent negotiation.
- **Global Solidarity Example:** The speaker being able to connect with communities concerned about state-sanctioned violence across multiple nations (US, Brazil, France, Colombia) due to shared language knowledge.
## Tools, Tech & Products
- **Languages mentioned:** Black English, Spanglish, standardized US English, Wolof, Spanish, Jamaican Patois, Portuguese, French, ASL, Haitian Creole.
## References Cited
- **Maya Angelou, James Baldwin, Angela Davis, Carter G Woodson, Shirley Chisum:** Listed as historical figures who learned to communicate in more than one language.
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- Difficulty articulating the concept of Language Justice before learning the theory.
- The practical hurdle of knowing every language across the globe for collective liberation.
## Methodology
- Oral history and lived experience detailing the personal and professional value of multilingualism in activism and survival.
- Advocacy framework based on the principle of multilingual community building.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- **Three concrete steps for liberation:**
1. Learn at least one more language (e.g., ASL, Haitian Creole).
2. Budget for multilingual communication within organizations and businesses (make it a plan, not an afterthought).
3. Create more online content in languages other than English.
- Final question posed: *"what should be our language of Liberation?"*
## Implications & Consequences
- Language is inextricably linked to race, culture, and freedom; any failure to address language rights impedes collective liberation.
- Current global systems fail to protect populations speaking non-dominant languages.
## Verbatim Moments
- *"I pose this question as a black queer us-born afro and non Latina language Justice practitioner."*
- *"when I ask what should be our language of Liberation I mean this literally what language will we use to communicate to coordinate and to collaborate"*
- *"foundational principles of language Justice call us to create multilingual space that encourage the autonomy of people to choose and use the language that makes them feel most powerful"*
- *"I was being taught when where and why I should code switch"*
- *"I cannot let you disrespect my people like that I'm F to learn Spanish"*
- *"I could definitely still get that rent in on time and I promise you that conversation hits different when you do it in someone's native language"*
- *"both race and language intersect with literally everything everything"*
- *"There can be no Collective Liberation in an anti-black world"*
- *"y'all we ain't going to get free in one language"*
- *"The revolution might not be televised but it will be multilingual"*