Hmm possibly. If you're just looking at someone from afar it's just a matter of color, but once you start a conversation with them there's more depth involved. If the conversation starts out with someone talking in ebonics, that might give a bigoted person the impression that the speaker of ebonics is by default not as bright, since ebonics is often seen as a kind of pidgin English, spoken by people who don't have a good grasp of the regular conversational English language.

Ebonics is not only used by black folks. It has spread throughout all the races, unfortunately. I do no think that unintelligent is what is associated with it. Uneducated is. To me, "following the herd" is associated with it. It is trying to be "cool." I do not find mangling of the English language to be "cool." I also do not treat people who speak like that any different than anyone else, except asking them to please speak in a way I can understand and to try not to wince.

Thanks for the answers. I know I'm bigotted. Yet, I know that an Ebionics accent lessens my opinion of the speaker even more. And I know that the correct use of English in conversation counters my bigotry relative to African-Americans almost completely. I find it hard to believe that the great majority of whites do not feel the same way. I think that if African-Americans could eliminate this Ebionics lanquage usage which, just like color, makes them different from the whites who speak correctly, then the degree of bigotry would be reduced.

I am in the UK, and I would suggest that we on this side of the pond hear the American accent first and then see the colour of the skin. Our prejudice is against Americans: we don't really give a fig if they are black, white, or purple with green and orange polka dots...

I agree totally. I'm actually a bit intimidated by these jive-talkin' people and hate to say that my grandson's have picked up the baggin' and some of the gangsta talk. They do, however, only talk that way to each other, thank gawd! If they talked to me like that I'm afraid I'd freak.

I've heard "ebonics" used by people of all colors. It's ignorant and people who use it are ignorant -- regardless of their color. If you consider that bigotted of me, so be it. I don't like nor respect ignorance.

(put in wrong place moved to correct place)

Hell no I dernt agree. Ya,all are the ownliest ring tailed tootie of a person I evr herd say such a dern fooled thing. Sept them fellers that dernt kno the dang civil war ended, long time ago.

I state again that ebonics are not only spoken by black folks. People of all races do it. While it originated with black folks it is nowhere near exclusive to them. Furthermore, most black folks do not speak that way. Many black folks that I have met have a different accent than white folks but they do not speak in this unpleasant slang. Now, on to answering your question: I disagree in the amount of problems you are ascribing to ebonics. Yes, it causes problems but, no, I do not agree with you in the degree of them. I believe that prejudice is influenced by this vernacular and accent but that is nowhere NEAR as "bad" to racists as skin color. I am routinely called a "mud person" (along with a whole lot worse) because I am from a dark skinned ethnicity (amongst other problems they have with us). I speak very proper English. Furthermore, I am a pale Romani ("Gypsy") yet, due to me being from a dark skinned ethnicity, I get that insult despite being a pale specimen. That, alone, shows that bigots care more about a person's genetics than how they speak to a huge degree. Yes, using the ebonics vernacular and accent does not help black folks (or anyone else who speaks it), however, black folks who speak as well as a college professor are still subject to racism. In fact, black people face much MORE discrimination if they speak ebonics than anyone of any other ethnicity does. That also shows that your hypothesis is incorrect. That is solid proof that skin color is much more important in determining racist hatred than speech.

yeah? Tell that to Nelson Mandella.

Ha! I answered another one of your questions about AAVE and you never responded. Is this just a thing you like to harp on? Anyway, I am of mixed race but am African-American identified. And most people who see me would categorize me as AA. My English is impeccable. And I can assure you that when people have wanted to be racist toward me, my linguistic skills did absolutely nothing to mitigate it.

Do you really expect any intelligent individual--of any race--to "agree" with your shallow and shortsighted version or understanding of the reason(s) for bigotry against blacks? Do you really think that it is a language problem? You don't believe it has absolutely nothing or very little to do with white supremacy, do you? was the lynching of blacks in the south a language problem? Did the Jim Crow law(separated and unequal) have anything to do with language? Do really think that the Apartheid era in America was a language problem? What about the assassination of Dr. King and others civil rights leaders--was it a language propblem? I think you need to pull your head out of your butt and face reality as well as your own bigotry!