THE FREEDOM OF A NAME

Bakhtins Architectonic Model of Selfhood and the Complexity of Selecting a Name in African-American Culture
Jasmine C. Williams

Bakhtin, Names, and Creativity

Bakhtin believed that creativity was a social act, in which personalities develop from interaction with each other; selves are creative in response to the images of themselves given by others (Morson and Emerson) Naming [is] a conscious choice that reflects an intention to identify a child ethnically, culturally, creatively, or not at all (Brown and Lively 689) African Americans question how to balance the heritages and traditions of creativity while avoiding pejorative racialized characteristics that are inescapably associated with being Black (Brown and Lively 688) While [black] names reflect creative and unique ways of thinking, there a looming deficient cultural perspective about them (Brown and Lively 668)

Bakhtins Architectonic Model

Three parts of selfhood

I-for-others: how I look from outside to everyone else I-for-myself: how I feel from inside my own consciousness Others-for-me: how I view others through my consciousness

Black Names, White Names

Black Names (Ethnic Names) names most frequent among African-Americans White Names (Anglicized Names) names most frequent among European-Americans

Top 5 Names from 1990-2000

White Girl Names Molly Amy Claire Emily Katie

Black Girl Names Imani Ebony Shanice Aaliyah Precious

Top 5 Names from 1990-2000

White Boy Names Jake Connor Tanner Wyatt Cody Black Boy Names DeShawn DeAndre Marquis Darnell Terell

History

Invention of Black Names

1960s African-American and EuropeanAmerican names are the same 1970s African-American names shift toward Islamic names; the introduction to Black names 1980s Black names are more common among African-American children 1990s-Black names adopt invented names and are associated with a lower-socio economic status

Why black names?

According to Fryer and Levitt, about 90% of Asian-Americans have names parallel to white names Difference between white names and Hispanic names is not nearly as great By the 1980s, African-American baby girls were receiving names 20 times more likely among African-Americans

I-for-others
how I look from outside to everyone else

So, Whats the fuss in a postracial society?

Postracial society: a society where racism is no longer issue and there is no longer a need for affirmative action and historically black colleges (Brown and Lively 684) New Racism: characterized by a context in which there is a plausible, non-prejudiced explanation available for behavior that might ordinarily be considered racist (Watson et al. 2407)

Childhood with a black name

Daniels and Daniels (1998) EuropeanAmerican children more commonly associated negative behaviors with black names than African-American children Figolo (2005) Teachers treated students differently based on names which affected test scores

Adulthood with a black name

Betrand and Mullainathan (2004) for every 10 resumes with white names one call back was received while resumes with black names had to distribute 15 resumes to receive one call back Watson et al. (2011) - white names received 50% more callbacks than did applicants with black names Both cases found that salespeople engaged in this new racism due to fear of black named applicant of a strong affinity with Afrocentricism, and a refusal to assimilate to workplace professionalism or practices, making customers uncomfortable and decreasing productivity.

So, do black names lead to negative life outcomes?

According to Fryer and Levitts study, AfricanAmericans who had mostly black names live in lower income neighborhoods consisting of mostly African-Americans.

So, do black names lead to negative life outcomes?

Black names are found among African American mothers who Have black names themselves Unmarried Low-income Under insured Under educated Teen mothers

NO

Black names are not a cause of poverty, racial segregation, or inequality but a consequence. A black is an indicator of lower socio-economic status but not a determinant of behaviors or life outcomes.

I-for-myself
how I feel from inside my own consciousness

Self-Awareness
Brown and Livelys study titled Selling the Farm to Buy the Cow: The Narrativized Consequences of Black Names From Within the African American Community attempts to examine the social reality of racism and how it interacts with African Americans, as a speech community, as they deconstruct naming as both a process and product (673).

Childhood with a black name

It is embarrassing to watch these preschoolers attempt to spell their name or correct others on the pronunciationthe little ones are tired of defending their names all day long (Brown and Lively 678). High school student Kevin stated that he disliked his name but refused to go by his middle name Dion because its unprofession because its black (Brown and Lively 678).

Childhood with a black name

AAA 1: I used to be disappointed I couldnt find the little kiddy stuff that has your name imprinted on it with my first name . . . I though about that when I named my daughter. AAA 4: That totally had an impact on me naming my children Charles and Kate.

Others-forme
how I view others through my consciousness

Relativistic Positioning of Identity

Defined as when one sees oneself more favorable than one is seen by others, even when one is a member of the same group (qtd. In Brown and Lively 686). Example: Jasmine

Relativistic Positioning of Identity

We are already born handicap in America by being African American. Why would we handicap our children with names (679). giving names [to children] that sound complicated but has no significant meaning will cause problems for those children[and] automatically associate [them] to a poor, ghetto environment (679).

I hate when some mom names her kid something crazy and then gets an attitude when you mispronounced it (679)

Identity in the Workplace

Negotiation of identity: So, maybe there is a time and place for the usage of certain names just like you may walk and talk differently at work, you may be called something different at work as well. Im not saying that I agree but the world we live in may require that (679). Awareness of perceived identity: ...lets say your name is Laquinisha and Susan. You have the same criteria, same experience, same degrees and everything. Susan gonna get the job (681). Black Americans are expected to have baggageconcerning holding white people accountable for slavery and Jim Crow (681).

The Ultimatum
I think we have or will fail as parents if we dont leave our children better off than our parents left us. That may be a hard pill to swallow, but just look at our condition . . . My great greats were slaves, my grands had land and did farming, my parents got jobs and worked for someone else for 30 years. If my child HAS to do tomorrow what my parents had to do 50 years before that, I think Im to blame. Of course, they have their own minds and can do what they choose, but we must have better options for them (Brown and Lively 683).

Works Cited
Bakhtin, Mkhail. The John Hopkins University Press 2nd ed. 2005. Bertran, Marianne , and Sendhil Mullainathan. Are Emily and Greg more employable than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination. American Economic Review. 94. (2004): 991-1013. Print. Daniel, Jarlean E., and Daniel, Jack L. Preschool childrens selection of race-related personal names. Journal of Black Studies. 28(1998): 471-90. Print. Figolo, D. Names expectations and the Black-White test score gap. Working Paper Series, National Bureau of Economic Research, Cambridge, 2004. Freakonomics. Ewing, Heidi, et al. Magnolia Pictures. 2010. Netflix. Fryer, Roland G., and Levitt, Steven D. The Causes and Consequences of Distinctively Black Names. The Quarterly Journal of Economics. 3(2004):767-805. Print. Levitt, Steven. and Dubner, Stephen., Perfect Parenting, Part II; or: Would a Roshanda by Any Other Name Smell as Sweet? Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. New York: HarperCollins, 2005. Print. Liberson, Stanley, and Bell, Eleanor. Childrens First Names: An Empirical Study of Social Taste. The American Journal of Sociology. 98(1992): 511-54. Print. McConahay, John B. Modern racism, ambivalence, and the Modern Racism Scale. New York: Academic Press. 91 125. Print. Morson, Gary, and Emerson, Caryl. Mikhail Bakhtin: Creation of Prosaics. Standord: Standford UP, 1990. Skinner, E., and Robins, P. (Eds.). Transformation and resiliency in Africa: As seen by AfroAmericans. Washington, DC: Howard UP, 1983.