“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
When people are born they don't usually get to choose their names, as for Equality
names are prevented from being able to reassimilate within society, they are the outcasts. It also
One of Beverly Tatum's major topics of discussion is racial identity. Racial identity is the meaning each of us has constructed or is constructing about what it means to be a white person or a person of color in a race-conscious society. (Tatum, pp Xvii) She talks about how many parents hesitate to talk to their children about racism because of embarrassment and the awkwardness of the subject. I agree with her when she says that parents don't want to talk about racism when they don't see a problem. They don't want to create fear or racism where none may exist. It is touchy subject because if not gone about right, you can perhaps steer someone the wrong way. Another theory she has on racial identity is that other people are the mirror in which we see ourselves. (tatum pp18) 'The parts of our identity that do capture our attention are those that other people notice, and that reflects back to us.'; (Tatum pp21) What she means by this is that what other people tell us we are like is what we believe. If you are told you are stupid enough you might start to question your intelligence. When people are searching for their identity normally the questions 'who am I now?'; 'Who was I before?'; and 'who will I become'; are the first that come to mind. When a person starts to answer these questions their answers will influence their beliefs, type of work, where they may live, partners, as well as morals. She also mentions an experiment where she asked her students to describe themselves in sixty seconds. Most used descriptive words like friendly, shy, intelligent, but students of color usually state there racial or ethnic group, while white students rarely, if ever mention that they are white. Women usually mention that they are female while males usually don't think to say that they are males. The same situation appeared to take place when the topic of religious beliefs came up. The Jewish students mentioned being Je...
Everyone is raised within a culture with a set of customs and morals handed down by those generations before them. Most individual’s view and experience identity in different ways. During history, different ethnic groups have struggled with finding their place within society. In the mid-nineteen hundreds, African Americans faced a great deal of political and social discrimination based on the tone of their skin. After the Civil Rights Movement, many African Americans no longer wanted to be identified by their African American lifestyle, so they began to practice African culture by taking on African hairdos, African-influenced clothing, and adopting African names. By turning away from their roots, many African Americans embraced a culture that was not inherited, thus putting behind the unique and significant characteristics of their own inherited culture. Therefore, in an African American society, a search for self identity is a pervasive theme.
Minorities in America as Portrayed in My Name is Asher Lev, Joy Luck Club, and Black Like Me
No, my name isn’t Sha’Quonda, Fri'chickenisha or any other common “ghetto black girl" name that you may have expected. I also do not come from a broken home. My family isn’t on welfare. I’m not promiscuous nether am I a dumb person. Even though I don't fit within society's standards for a black girl, I am a black girl and I am also delighted to be one. Why should I be upset with something that I can’t change? In the words of Denzel Washington, “I'm very proud to be black, but black is not all I am. That's my cultural historical background, my genetic makeup, but it's not all of who I am nor is
“ Biracial children will always be referred to as black and, therefore, they should have a black mother.” ( Interracial Marriage - Difficulties in Interracial Marriages, 1) This is another statement that is commonly said about black and white couples with the man being black and the wife being white.
Do you think your name defines who you are? The chapter from the book The Misfits by James Howe and the article New Life In The US No longer Means New Name by Sam Roberts both deal with the ways names can affect someone culturally and personally. Although both texts have similar messages, the theme of names is different in each.
I interviewed my nephew, Jeremy, for my Personal Identity paper. I come from a very large family including; six brothers, sister in laws, and fifteen nieces and nephews. My brother, Joe, married an African-American women (Sandra) and had two sons; however, they look nothing alike. Jeremy, the oldest, looks African-American and Anthony, the youngest, looks white. I chose to interview Jeremy for my paper because I wonder how being the only black child in a large white family impacted his
Multiracial students face many problems coming to terms with their racial identity due to the inability to fall under a mono-racial category. In recent years, the amount of biracial births are out numbering the amount of mono-racial births, and these children will soon be entering the school system (Root 1996) with new unique problems when concerning their own racial identity. According to Poston, “Racial identity is defined as "pride in one's racial and cultural identity" (1990, p. 152 as cited in counseling biracial students). Compared to mono-racial peers, multiracial students are faced with constant conflicts over how to embrac...
Many studies have been conducted in a bid to understand the cultural and geographical differences that influence the naming process among different communities (Alia 2008, p. 6). Within each of the studies, there has been considerable address of the issues that were in the past of great importance among different communities and the way the names have been changing with time, based on various the present-day trends (Norman 2003, p. 529). One of the significant findings in the studies conducted is based on the fact that many of the names that are given to newborns possess unique meanings and the different communities have made it part of a cultural practice to maintain this trend (Darlington 2011, p. 1).
But it just doesn’t enough; because using “Black” or “African American” is depend on each person, on when or where they feel to say it, or simply saying “Black” is because it is shorter and more concise. “African American” may sound a little bit loftier, but let’s imagine “an African American and an African American” then say a Black and a Black”. Besides, when meeting somebody who comes from Africa for the first time, we are more comfortable to use “African-American”, to show more respect and to prevent offensive comments. And secondly, we don’t really care about your history or who your ancestor was, when treating people all the same despite of their history is more important. To Erika Hall, a professor at Emory University, for white Americans, the term "black" contents the negative associations and lower perception of ability than
According to Bertrand and Mullainathan, African-American sounding names on resumes are 50 percent less likely to get a call back when compared to White-sounding names. Unique names (which are common in African American populations) are considered different and applicants with unique names were also less likely to be hired (Cotton, John L., et al., 14). Names not only give employers a hint about the applicant's race and ethnicity but names can also influence how the employers imagine the applicant in their minds (Holbrook, Colin, et al). Dr. Holbrook’s study suggests that Latino and African American-sounding names are often discriminated against and applicants with these names are perceived to be larger in size, more violent, and of lower socioeconomic status. Bart suggests some solutions to this bias, including coding job applications, which would make identifying race and gender more difficult for the employer. Another solution to this cognitive bias is awareness. Knowing that each of us harbor stereotypes can help us control “whether we allow them to affect the way we treat people [whom] we may view as different” (Bart, B. D, et al). These solutions can hopefully help to reduce name bias in the hiring process and give all applicants a fair and equal chance of getting a
Regardless of the reasons for the classification system, the effects of such rigid raced based classifications had the worst impact on those with the darker skin and more African features when it comes to treatment and social mobility. Even the term black when used in reference to those of African origin exists within a framework that must contain the “ambiguity” of blackness and
I’ve always strove to deter people’s attention away from my name, just to avoid that anxiety. Doing so, however, the full story of my name was seldom told to people and I failed to really open up to people about a very important yet basic thing that has shaped my identity.