In an attempt to portray the reality and importance of Black English, James Baldwin, an African American author who focuses on race and sexuality themes, wrote “If Black English Isn’t a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?” using a specifically harsh tone and relating to his audience by appealing to both emotion and logic while still upholding his credibility. With a background affected immensely by the dark history of African Americans, Baldwin is able to pull from personal experiences to provide examples that successfully support his claim-the immense impact African American culture has had on English-both logically and emotionally from the reader’s perspective. Baldwin also focuses on the history and background of several types of languages to help convince the reader of thinking about language from a new perspective. This short article effectively convinces the reader that African American language and culture has had a huge impact on Americans and the English language. According to his biography, Baldwin grew up witnessing racism in Harlem and later become an active participant in the civil rights movement. When one is this involved in an issue from a young age it’s obvious how the desire to prove the importance of Black English would transition into his writing. His powerful words do not go unnoticed either, as this essay was published in the New York Times as well as an official University of Washington textbook (Baldwin 349). While he persuades the reader to not only acknowledge but also respect the language that is Black English with credible knowledge from personal experience he also appeals to the emotions of the reader. The history of slavery in itself is prominent throughout his essay whether it being the reason for the necessity of Black English or the harshness of the language. The tone Baldwin uses in his essay directly parallels the roughness of Black Language, specifically his shorter sentences and blunt state