It appears that the present-day form of African American English is not the inheritance of the period of slavery, but the creation of the second half of the 20th century.

We African Americans have now spent the major part of the 20th Century battling racism.

We African Americans have now spent the major part of the 20th Century battling racism.

Film in the 20th century, it's the American art form, like jazz.

However, research in the years that followed found that in many of its important features, African American Vernacular English was becoming not less, but more different from other dialects.

Ragtime was a fanfare for the 20th century.