black names
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How Black Is it Not to Know the Real Names of Folks in Your Family? Possibly Ever.
So, I have a question that’s been perplexing me that will illuminate some things, possibly about me and you, your momma and your cousin, too. I’m hoping that I’m not alone in this; in fact, I’m assuming that I’m not. The question is: How black is this? But there’s a sub-question here, too. You see,…
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What It’s Like To Be a Black Woman Named Beckii
On Saturday, CNN published a lengthy piece of award-winning journalism on white people with black-sounding names. The insanely absurd story featured a collection of Caucasians (which is more than a “pinch of wypipo” but less than a “mob of lynchers”) ruminating about how uncomfortable it is living with a negro moniker. Yes, they literally did…
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I Was Wrong. Cephus, Not Washington, Is America's Blackest Last Name
Two years ago, I wrote a thing asking which was the single blackest last name. After an intense vet involving census results, personal recollections, proximities to yams, and even a consultation from an Adam Clayton Powell hologram, the list was narrowed to four: Washington, Jefferson, Jackson, and Jenkins. Washington was eventually declared the blackest of…
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Call Me by My Name: Danai Gurira Writes About the Importance of Identity for Glamour Magazine
Fun fact: There was about a decade of my life where I didn’t like to be called by my given name. After an early childhood of correcting anyone who dared mispronounce it, I spent most of grammar school feeling burdened by a name seemingly so difficult, no one could be bothered to learn to say…
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LaKeisha, Where Art Thou? The Case for ‘Black Sounding’ Names
Recently I played host to my niece’s 5th-birthday party. It was a backyard paint-themed affair where all the babies were dressed like pint-size Picassos in smocks and berets and hyped up on confectioners’ sugar. It was somewhere between the dance-off and “Red light, green light” that I realized something. There were no Keishas here. There…
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Was My Black Ancestor Named After a Confederate General?
I visited Charleston, S.C., last week and walked past a statue of Wade Hampton III and stopped dead in my tracks. You see, my great-grandfather’s name was Wade Hampton Shields. Wade Hampton III was a Confederate general, U.S. senator and governor of South Carolina. He was one of the largest enslavers of people in the South…
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Raven-Symone Is Full Of Shit Because Someone Named "Watermelondrea" Would DEFINITELY Get Hired
By now, I’m sure most of you are aware of the comments Raven-Symone made last week on The View in reference to “Black-sounding” names. And, I’m also sure most of you are aware of the swift pushback she received. One, for gleefully admitting that she, a Black person, would willfully discriminate against Black-sounding names. And…