SubscribeThe data show that, on average, a person with a distinctively black name—whether it is a woman named Imani or a man named DeShawn—does have a worse life outcome than a woman named Molly or a man named Jake. But it isn't the fault of his or her name. If two black boys, Jake Williams and DeShawn Williams, are born in the same neighborhood and into the same familial and economic circumstances, they would likely have similar life outcomes. But the kind of parents who name their son Jake don't tend to live in the same neighborhoods or share economic circumstances with the kind of parents who name their son DeShawn. And that's why, on average, a boy named Jake will tend to earn more money and get more education than a boy named DeShawn. DeShawn's name is an indicator—but not a cause—of his life path.Emphasis mine. In other words, "ethnic" names reflect the living situation, but I'd say are common enough that they are common in their own way. Marijuana Pepsi Jackson is very distinct, to the point of many people not believing her. She had to fight for recognition and belief when she met people, where as DeShawn or Jake would be nothing unusual in particular areas.
This is an examination of the naming practices of individuals within certain African-American communities. Drawing on Mailloux's notion of cultural rhetoric as "the political effectivity of various tropes and argument in culture," I argue that the act of naming in many African-American cultures is a response to and mockery of mainstream cultural aesthetics. Some scholars have argued that distinctly "Black" names have detrimental economic effects on African-Americans; however, I extend that conversation by offering a cultural-rhetorical approach that sees names not as arbitrary signs but "symbolic mechanisms" of power and self-determination.
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posted by porn in the woods at 9:10 AM on April 22