As a teacher at a public institution, There are few things that cause me as much stress as obtaining my student’s rosters for the first time.
I glance over the names of my new children and am a bit embarrassed.
Do I say this?
Every year, it’s the same it’s always at least four names that I’ve never heard of before, or at the very least, never written exactly like this!!
As a white teacher in a school district that has the majority of students of color, but with very many black teachers, there are very few people you can look to for advice.
And If I don’t find out in the near future, I’ll make an awful impression on people. Everyone hates having their name taken away, especially children, particularly if someone else is involved and especially if that adult is white.
The only way I’ve found is to continue even if it’s the first day of attendance and do my best.
It’s not easy It’s uncomfortable, but I manage to manage to get through it, and eventually, I learn.
One that I’ve been avoiding is reaching out to white people to ask for assistance. This is a recipe for disaster.
It is almost always an exercise in subliminal racist behavior and racism and white supremacy. Whatever the individual is, or how caring, kind or compassionate, the response to distinctive black names is usually ridicule.
White people laugh and take the incident to tell stories about black names they thought were more shocking.
We’re not trying to be a hateful group. I’m not sure if we acknowledge it as racism However, it is.
The situation is an opportunity to bond. People who aren’t exactly like us and me – they call their children like this! They are not like me and who call our kids more respectfully.
There is no doubt about it. This is a racist act. We emphasize the difference between a whole population of people in order to place ourselves above and above them.
It’s discriminatory, bigoted, prejudicial, and all-around stupid.
Why are black people so bad in general? What makes them so inconvenient?
We think that all European and Anglicized names seem acceptable. However, I don’t need to look far down my list to find kids of white descent with names such as Braelyn, Declyn, Jaydon, Jaxon, Gunner, or Hunter. I’ve never heard of white people screaming about these names.
I don’t know why white people would believe that black people be given the same names that we do. If you decide on the name that your child will be identified with, you usually opt for shared culture and history. Jennifer is an old name that has been part of my lineage for thousands of years. I’ll reconnect with my family’s tradition by calling my daughter the same name.
The majority of black people in America have the same cultural values as whites.
If a black man’s great-great-grandfather’s name was David, that might not be the name he was born with – it may have been chosen for him – forced upon him – by his slave master. It’s evident the reason African Americans may be uncomfortable returning to that past.
A lot of modern black names are, in reality, an attempt to reconnect with the past taken from them. Names such as Ashanti, Imani, and Kenya the African roots. Some are also religious. Names such as Aaliyah, Tanisha, and Aisha are generally Muslim. Others are from other languages like Monique, Chantal, and Andre are all French. I’m not sure why anything is not considered unworthy of ridicule.
Other names do not try to connect with their past, they strive to move forward and make a new beginning. The imagination and creation of names for black people are not often recognized even by White America. We think that inventing names from scratch is a sign of insanity, however, in reality, it’s the complete opposite!
The process of creating something new can be just as easy as taking the Anglicized term and writing it out in creative ways. Punctuation marks can also be used in odd positions to create a unique look for instance on the name Monique and D’Andre.
Sometimes they adhere to a certain tradition of culture to indicate that they are unique African Americans using prefixes such as Da/De, La/Le Ja/Je, or Ra/Re and suffixes like -ique/iqua/-isha and -aun/-awn.
And for the best in creative thinking, try mixing and mixing and matching different styles and techniques. For example, LaKeisha has elements from both French and African roots. Other names such as LaTanisha, DeShawn, JaMarcus DeAndre, and Shaniqua were made in the same manner.
It is something that all cultures do
They change to meet the needs of the people of an era and location. However, when it comes to those of color, white people make a big noise and laugh at it. Heck! If we are unable to find names of black people that aren’t too far out of the mainstream, we make these up!
Do you believe me? Have you heard of the name La-a? It’s said that an African-American girl was given the name and white people inquired what the pronunciation was. The black woman replied that”LASH” was her first name. It is usually then followed by a punchline in black vernacular.
Har! Har! Har!
However, it’s not actually real! According to Snopes, it’s an invented story. The story is an American version of the Polish joke and illustrates how far white people can go to make fun of the culture of black people.
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