The Cancer of the Ebony American society has made concessions to many groups of people with special interests, such as animal activists, environmental activists, and a number of ethnic groups. Strict animal rights laws have been passed to ensure the safety and future of a variety of species, from the domestic cat to the bald eagle. Wetland development has been curtailed in an effort to protect our swamps and forests from extinction. Our education system has implemented a program known as English as a Second Language, which caters to the special needs of immigrants in our school systems. This program offers extra tutoring and extra testing time for immigrants who primarily speak a language other than English. The Dudley and Bethel Foundation Scholarships, along with over twelve hundred others, were created exclusively for minorities in an effort to encourage improvement in their education. A list of these scholarships is available in the Minority Financial Aid Directory, 1993-1995. In an effort to promote equal opportunity in the workplace, the United States government has adopted the Affirmative Action program, which requires companies to include a certain number of minorities in their workforce. Now, some politicians and educators in this country want to make concessions for those Americans who grew up learning to speak what some call street slang, instead of speaking Standard English, which I ultimately hear is still the primary language of America. According to political columnist Caroline Boarder, a program known as Ebonics was introduced in Oakland, California, as a way to bridge the gap between black or poor English language learners and standard English language learners, in an effort to increase reading and writing test scores of African Americans. He also states that the Oakland school board claims that this bridge is necessary because speaking Ebonics is genetically related to African Americans. (Educators Sound Off on Ebonics, Washington Post, Jan 97) This hypothesis suggests that black students are not capable of learning the English language through conventional teaching methods, and we need to devise an easier way to teach them. I encourage every tax-paying American citizen to take a close look at this program; after all, you will be the one footing the bill for its implementation. I agree with politicians and educators who have at least acknowledged the fact that our education system needs an effective way to instill correct English in all students in the country, regardless of their race, but Ebonics is the answer??