It is important to note that at no point does the article condemn this practice of discriminating, but instead specifically warns against selecting such names.

Why would he even have a gripe against African Americans because of the names? Who the fuck has a grip against somebody over a name? I know plenty of people with these types of names who have MBA's and nothing but success, and I know people who are not so successful. This is just promoting hatred and discrimination against persons with African American names. If non whites dont sell out, then they will not be accepted and they deserve to be mistreated and judged?

GetAwayFromMe said:

Sell out to choosing their own identities....if they don't readily assimilate into a culture that will not and never has fully accepted them anyway. Other persons who have come here and had their names ridiculed could simply change their name and blend in. The dark skin doesn't allow for that so why bother.....

I don´t think that the author is really having a problem with what you call African American names, he is merely pointing out that your name does indeed play a huge role in your career.Now whether this is fair or not is a whole different topic but unfortunately, it is a reality, and not just in the African-American communities.
Here in Germany, kids get discriminated against and ridiculed (and get stigmatized when looking for a job) if their name is Justin, Kevin, Jessica, Mandy etc. because these names have some sort of "ghettoish" connotation.
Most of the names mentioned in the article with the link that I posted are not even remotely African to begin with...they´re just made up names who bear absolutely no resemblance to real African names, and why give your kids a pseudo East African or Central African sounding name when in fact the majority of African-Americans have Yoruba or Ibo or Haussa or Evi ancestry? If I were African-American and trying to give my kid an African sounding name,I´d much rather chose a name from those tribes I mentioned than some made up , pseudo African name which was inspired by some Ksuaehli name in East or Central Africa.
African-Americans don´t stem from Tansania or Zimbabwe or Malawi, you can still tell by the way they look that most of them stem from places like Senegal,Ghana, Nigeria, Kameroon etc., hence the tribes I mentioned above.

And don´t even get me started with all those ghettoish car brand names like Porsche or Ferrari or Mercedes, or those pseudo brand names, like some perfume or liqour names....sure, you can name your kids however you want but they have to live with those names for the rest of their lives and you know there are still a lot of prejudiced, racist people out there, why make it even more difficult for the kids?
Besides, a lot of those names sound really ridiculous.

StillGotIt said:

I don't think that article is appropriate for school either. In Art class?

So what´s the reason for coming up with such names? Just to make sure your kid has a unique name?

StillGotIt said:

Sell out to what? Having a name that isn't ridiculous?

KoolEaze said:

KoolEaze said:

KoolEaze said:

A lot of African Americans are not trying to identify with Africa. Far too many people dont understand that

I gotta grab my coat and keys and make my way down to the school. Will be on later.....

What is even worse is that I am apparently the ONLY parent that had a problem with it. Seriously...if I would (and have in the past) stood up when other groups have been attacked this way. I'm like WTF is wrong with society today....I'm the only one making a big stink of it.....

yea....and that term "blacker names".....WTF WTF is that supposed to mean?

Names shouldn't be a big deal. Shit, African Americans have been belittled for all types of shit....it was always something...diction, accent, skin tone. A people picked on, pulled apart, who seek an identity and then the identities they choose are too black? WTF.

I don´t think that the author is really having a problem with what you call African American names, he is merely pointing out that your name does indeed play a huge role in your career.Now whether this is fair or not is a whole different topic but unfortunately, it is a reality, and not just in the African-American communities.
Here in Germany, kids get discriminated against and ridiculed (and get stigmatized when looking for a job) if their name is Justin, Kevin, Jessica, Mandy etc. because these names have some sort of "ghettoish" connotation.
Most of the names mentioned in the article with the link that I posted are not even remotely African to begin with...they´re just made up names who bear absolutely no resemblance to real African names, and why give your kids a pseudo East African or Central African sounding name when in fact the majority of African-Americans have Yoruba or Ibo or Haussa or Evi ancestry? If I were African-American and trying to give my kid an African sounding name,I´d much rather chose a name from those tribes I mentioned than some made up , pseudo African name which was inspired by some Ksuaehli name in East or Central Africa.
African-Americans don´t stem from Tansania or Zimbabwe or Malawi, you can still tell by the way they look that most of them stem from places like Senegal,Ghana, Nigeria, Kameroon etc., hence the tribes I mentioned above.

And don´t even get me started with all those ghettoish car brand names like Porsche or Ferrari or Mercedes, or those pseudo brand names, like some perfume or liqour names....sure, you can name your kids however you want but they have to live with those names for the rest of their lives and you know there are still a lot of prejudiced, racist people out there, why make it even more difficult for the kids?
Besides, a lot of those names sound really ridiculous.

In a nutshell, the article is trying to show that, on some deep,subconscious or psychological level, a name does indeed have a huge impact on our live and our choices ( partners ) . I look at it as an article about the effect of names.

There are even studies that show how a name can shape the look of a kid...don´t know whether to take that one with a grain of salt though...some scientists think that a soft sounding name will have an effect on the facial features of a kid.
[Edited 11/18/09 7:24am]

KoolEaze said:

Kooleaze, I get some of your points, , but no one should be discriminated or denied employment, housing, etc., because of a name that is considered "too ethnic" especially if it is not offensive to anyone.
[Edited 11/18/09 8:08am]

2elijah said:

Of course not ! I know what it´s like since I have a VERY "ethnic" sounding name that has always been some sort of conversation piece so,yes, I can relate to that.
Also, it´s not always about "ethnic" sounding names, as I pointed out in my post above. Sometimes it is also a class thing, like with those ghettoish German names I mentioned. People are really biased in Germany as soon as someone says his name is Justin, Kevin,Jessica, Mandy, Enrico, or whatever.

It is definitely not fair and very ugly but the phenomenon exists, and it is not limited to the African American communities.You probably have similarly ghettoish names in the socalled "trailer park, white trash" communities in the USA.
Far be it from me to judge AfricanAmericans by their names, I was merely saying that psychologically, a lot of people will give you a strange reaction when you have a strange sounding name. This is very unfortunate, but true.
I take it one step further and deliberately pronounce my name correctly instead of using a "Germanized" version like most of my Turkish peers would do.But I also understand that a lot of people have problems with my name.

Why would he even have a gripe against African Americans because of the names? Who the fuck has a grip against somebody over a name? I know plenty of people with these types of names who have MBA's and nothing but success, and I know people who are not so successful. This is just promoting hatred and discrimination against persons with African American names. If non whites dont sell out, then they will not be accepted and they deserve to be mistreated and judged?[

SCNDLS said:

Here´s a blog with some interesting thoughts on this topic, you might find it interesting, too:

http://freakonomics.blogs...t/?apage=3

The readers´ comments, especially those from a Nigerian reader, are worth pondering upon.