There is an adage that states, “You never know where you are going unless you know where you have been.” In the spirit of Black history month, the Monroe Dispatch will highlight stories and the history of Blacks that are not commonly known. Blacks have made many significant contributions to the world, and one of our most significant contributions is culture and vernacular. One can not study African-American Vernacular English (AAVE) without consideration of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, which brought Africans to America and neighboring territories. Enslaved people brought intelligence...