Black people catch a lot of shade from their names. Whether you have a “black name” or a “white name,” these struggles are just part of being black.
When People Think You Have a White Name
In Season 4 of 30 Rock, they came up with a joke about a white man named Wesley Snipes. When Liz Lemon made fun of the Wesley character’s name, he said:
It’s insane that the actor Wesley Snipes has that name! Look. If you saw a picture of him, and a picture of me, and you were asked “Who should be named Wesley Snipes?” You’d pick the stuffy Englishman every time! Every time, Liz!
When we have “black names” white people shade us for being ignorant. When we have “white names” that reflect the country we’ve lived in for several hundred years, we’re trying to be like white people. It’s impossible to win.
When You Get Shade for Having a “Black Name”
One of the highest paid celebrities on the planet is named Beyonce. You’d think that would give African-American names a little more appreciation. Unfortunately, that’s not the case.
When They’re Expecting a White Person
It’s almost funny to see the confusion and disappointment on an employer’s face when Megan Butler walks in without freckles and red hair. Now I have to sit through this play interview with a gut feeling that I’ve already lost the job.
When Your Name Gets Your Resume Thrown Out
When CBS ran a report on discrimination against black names on resumes, they were just telling us something we already knew. But at least you didn’t waste gas money on a job you weren’t going to get from jump.
Your Last Name Tells You Nothing About Your History
Malcolm changed his last name to “X” because “Little” told him nothing about where he came from. Sometimes your last name can be a painful reminder of how cut off we are from our African roots.
The Phoenetics
Give your child a creative name and be prepared to hear everyone mispronounce it for the rest of time.
When White People Think You’re Related
If your last name is Williams and my last name is Williams, that means that your people probably owned my people, not that we’re long lost cousins.
When Your Last Name Has Slave History Written All Over It
I don’t know why white people were surprised to find out that Thomas Jefferson was visiting the slave quarters at night. Half of us are Jeffersons or Washingtons or Jacksons or a few other slave-time presidents we could name.
When White Names Get a Pass
Orange is the New Black was written by Jenji Kohan. The head of the Republican National Committee? Reince Priebus. We almost elected Mitt, a man named after athletic equipment with a son named Tagg. And there’s a senator from Georgia named Saxby Chambliss. But their names don’t get half the shade that black names do.
That Time 20/20 Weighed in on The “Issue”
Back in 2009, 20/20 ruffled a lot of feathers when they released a list of most popular black names and most popular white names. It almost seemed like a heads up to employers to make sure they didn’t accidentally hire anyone of color.
This Reddit Post
It sounded like a legitimate question, but the discussion that followed was one of the prime examples of why name shaming is really just racism.
When People Don’t Understand The History Behind Black Names
Certain people treat black names like they’re a reflection of something wrong with black people. But they’re a product of the black pride movement in the 1970s when black people were affirming their culture and identity by choosing unique names and wearing afros to distinguish themselves from an oppressive white culture.
When White People Pretend that Shade for Black Names Isn’t Racist
When Gwenyth Paltrow named her daughter Apple or Frank Zappa named his kid Moon Unit, no one started a national debate on the cultural pathology of white people or celebrities.
Naming Your Own Kids
Do you choose a name that you love, regardless of what people think? Or do you let racism and stereotypes influence the name you give your child?
The Pressure to Change It
Remember the girl who changed her name from Keshia to Kylie? Sometimes black name shade is so bad that people are willing to ditch their heritage to avoid the stigma.
