Bootie Cosgrove-Mathers's 'Black' Names: A Resume Burden?

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“Be who want to be,create a name for yourself”(Unknown). Being one is the greatest gift to society. Creating a name for one is important and key to striving in throughout society. A name will never define someone as a person. The person will define the name. The article “ ‘Black’ Names: A Resume Burden?” by Bootie Cosgrove- Mathers discusses, the burden many parents of color face when choosing their child 's name. The stereotypes set out throughout society on if a parent of color should name their children “black” sounding names is significant. Parents of color should name their children “black” sounding names to embrace their black identity, bring across equality, and end the negative stereotypes that come with “black” sounding names. …show more content…

A name such as Lakshya or Dashawn may seem to be “ghetto”[ a poor and economically deprived community where minorities typical reside] would possibly be rejected in society due to their ethnic name. An ethnic sounding name is commonly viewed with negative connotation thus being, “non-educated”, “poor”, “criminal”, and more. Cosgrove- Mathers asserts a study given by the University of Chicago’s Marianne Bertrand and MIT’s Sendhil Mullainathan, they discuss how a black sounding name may be impediment in Cosgrove- Mathers article. They [ Bertrand and Mullainathan] state, “ White names got about one callback per 10 resumes; black names got one per 15 … having a white sounding names[ Carries and Kristen 's thus being they sound more educated along with having skill in the field,and higher quality resume in general.] 30 percent more likely to elicit a callback, but only 9 percent for black-sounding names”(qtd. In Cosgrove - Mathers). Cosgrove-Mathers alludes to the issues of how jobs often are bias towards names that are “black” sounding when mention the studies done by Bertrand and Mullainathan. The stereotypes that are often represented of ethnic sounding names is unfair and bias in all means. On the contrary people who oppose that “black” sounding names carry a stereotype that reflect possibly back on the company they work for. This may seem like a valid point. However, a company shouldn’t chose an employe based off the name given on the resume, but what qualities the employer has, and can offer to the company due to an outstanding resume. Therefore, parents of color should name their children ethnic names to bring an end to the negative stereotypes that are often associated with their “black” sounding

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