What's In A Name?

Over the past few months I began to look into the meaning behind certain names and I've come to learn that a lot of African American names that were once empowering to our community now have a negative undertone to them. Names that were uplifting and royal at one point are now deemed as unworthy. Times have changed so much that most of us opt for standard names to feel more accepted in American Society. In order to understand this transition you have to understand American history. When the colonized were stripped of our identity and removed from our homelands to work for colonizers, we also were stripped of our birth rights and forced to take on new names under them. In doing this, they immediately rewrote who we were by removing our culture and our identity. Fast forward to the Civil Rights movement and you will notice how African Americans began to take back some of the power to who we are. One of the ways to reclaim self-identity was to rename our youth however we saw fit. Here is what brought on the more colorful names that we've come to see today.

As I looked through more names, I began to see the story behind some of them needed to be re-written. For a name is powerful. It represents who you are every day. Don't allow others to devalue that. Ethnic diversity is something we all should embrace!

What does your name mean to you?

Below are the meanings behind a few names that we now know to be less favorable in American society. You even will notice little slogans have been built around demeaning these names. How many times have you heard "Bye Felicia" or seen this name used for characters in underprivileged areas. This is all psychological and literally wears on you slowly to make you feel less than. Learn to armor yourself and remove all doubt. For your name is your identity and there's much power in knowing that.

{Felicia} - Happy, Happiness, Sunshine

{Keisha} - Great joy, Favorite

{Latoya} - Victorious One

If you want to learn more about the  meanings behind names check out: http://www.behindthename.com.

Happy Learning!

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