Being Named Shenequa Doesn't Make Me Ghetto

Writing at Hello Beautiful, Shenequa Golding says she's most upset at African Americans who stereotype her based on a choice her mother made.

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Men have approached me on the street and believed I was lying when I told them my name. "C'mon shorty. Shenequa? Look, if you not interested, cool. But don't lie to me. You NOT no Shenequa!" They'd exclaim …

My name is Shenequa. I'm black and I'm from Queens, N.Y. My mother had me when she was 16 years old and my dad wasn't really around. So, yes. I fit the urban, fatherless stereotype.

But peep this: I'm smart. I'm funny. I'm clever. I'm not anyone's baby mother or "wifey." I have a college degree. I know which fork to use at a table setting. I can properly pronounce "salmon" as opposed to the commonly mispronounced word "SAL-mon."(Who started that trend?) I know who the president of Afghanistan is. I'm chasing my dreams and I'm just the bees-knees.

Read Shenequa Golding's entire piece at Hello Beautiful.

The Root aims to foster and advance conversations about issues relevant to the black Diaspora by presenting a variety of opinions from all perspectives, whether or not those opinions are shared by our editorial staff.