Reading Strategy: Synonyms

"I'm down for y'all, when homies call," D sang. "I was just a shorty," she said. "But that song to me, it was all about having good friends." p. 58, Woodson

Woodson uses the vernacular particular to African-American culture when writing dialog in this conversation between D, Jayjones, Neeka & the main character. Look at the underlined slang terms and think of synonyms that come to mind when you read this passage.

1. Down

2. Y'all

3. Homies

4. Shorty

Double Dutch

"Young girls at play are unaware that they are socially performing the embodied memories of a black musical past, but this explains the subconscious links between the generations of youth, between youth and adults, over time…. In other words, girls are telling stories through their embodied play: dramatizing the "infinite process of African-American and black musical identity construction" by practicing and performing the mnemonic rituals of a kinetic orality."

Excerpt from The Games Black Girls Play: Learning the Ropes from Double Dutch to Hip Hop.

Thug Life

"He ain't a thug," I said. "That's just his... persona. The way he acts so people think he's a true gangsta."

Mama looked at me. "Wouldn't matter if he was," she said. "First Amendment says people got a right to freedom of expression without government interfering- everybody knows that. Judge doesn't like the way he looks, didn't like the way he is in the world, what he talks about, what's on his stomach... that's the crime here." p.51, Woodson

As the main character and her mom discuss the lack of justice in Tupac's case, we can see how this relates to the three girls who are living in this urban neighborhood. Tupac was close to being convicted for a crime that had no evidence aside from what a girl was claiming and what's written on his stomach. Tupac is easily judged by his lifestyle, words, and choice of appearance. Just like Pac, we can see that people from the three girls' neighborhood face these stereotypes each day. Most of the time these assumptions are made from people outside of the urban lifestyle. But in the story we can see that even the characters conform to some of these stereotypes. Jayjones, Neeka's brother, was told by Neeka herself that he needed to stop cutting class, and to wear a suit to keep the cops away. He responded by saying that he does stay in school, and if he was cutting class so much, why have colleges already shown interest in him. Neeka's response to this is, " 'Cause you over six feet tall and can throw a ball in a basket, that's why." We can see here that Neeka believes that the only ticket out of their urban neighborhood for her brother is sports. She, just like other people in this world, didn't even bother to think about Jayjone's ability to succeed academically. It's a sad reality that characters like the ones in this story face everyday; having to go through life being judged by their upbringing, language (slang), choice of dress, and ideas.

Dear Mama

Tupac-Dear Mama by JFriszz

"What else do you have in common with Tupac," Neeka said.

" It's like his mama was a mess sometimes and he still loved her- people's moms be all complicated, and it's not like you got a bad mama or you got a good mama the way people be trying to judge and say."- D

I love you. I need you. I appreciate you.