African American Vernacular English

African American Vernacular English, referred to here as “Negro dialect,” describes the regional dialects historically spoken and written by Black Americans. Many Black writers were skilled speakers and transcribers of the dialect, and public orations by Black poets and orators were popular events. Readings by white performers attempting to imitate the Negro dialect were common in the nineteenth century and into the twentieth, performed before white audiences as part of so-called “historical” lectures or as entertainment.