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Drchicago54

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  1. An error in editing led me to the faux pas of calling Africa a country - my bad. I was letting my anger and frustration get in the way of thoughtful but passionate discussion. I won't let that harm any patients I treat and thanks for pointing that out. I agree that the Nation used to not like European names so choose names like Malcolm X . They usually take names that reflect their Islamic beliefs and to identify more with their fellow Muslims. I still have heard them make fun of the names we are discussing in this forum. those names might be African sounding with the cute little "a" at the end or the "Le or La" in front of them but they are not African. If that is an important contribution to Negro culture then so be it. We will have to agree to disagree and leave it at that without making it personal. I did read the "Autobiography of Malcolm X" but I do not have a degree in linguistics. My background is in science and political science with a strong background in music. I try to read everything on multiple topics, but I can tell I have not scratched the surface compared to you and others on this board but I am open to learn. At the time Mr Hughes was writing about Africa most of the countries were still under the oppressive thumb of the European colonial powers and we were not far from it the time. How could we not identify with and write about that. Ditto for Mr Woodson. That being said, no writer at the time had the vision to see when the white oppressor was driven out their replacements would be black oppressors who took fascism and racism to new heights. What immediately comes to mind is the native South Africans discriminating and killing in many instances "guest" Nigerian workers who they see as lowlife predators stealing their jobs and trying to take over their country. Who da thunk? I can't argue with the fact that Africa is rich with culture, art and music much of which the slaves brought over with them and we now use in so called jazz and even in Hip Hop. I knew John Coltrane. He was a close friend of my God father in Los Angeles and I would spend the summers there. He choose to study Africa and other world music primarily for the music and what elements he could use to incorporate into his music. The church of John Coltrane which I have visited out here in the bay Area has taken that all a bit far and he was far to humble of a man to sanction that kind of extreme nonsense if he were alive in body today. I guess what I am trying to get across is that the American Negro has a rich culture that is a blend of both African and European traditions that make us who we are- All colors of the rainbow (fewer and fewer are dark black). - Jazz and blues which take much from each tradition to blend into a music played by all countries throughout the world. You know the list could go on. Gospel music sounds to me at times like Yoruba chants. I can't argue with any of that my friend. But I just don't think the any of the people I come across on a daily basis have even a remote knowledge of any of this when they come up with these names. Maybe it is their way of protesting against the so called dominate culture and so be it. But this type of petty "protest" will not advance the current sorry state of affairs for the American Negro and will likely make it that much harder. Just like some poor white Appalachian who names their child Billy Bob is not helping that child's chances.
  2. Right on! I do not know much about you but you think much in the mode of my parents who grew up in the Depression without much and struggled and were able to instill in me great pride in my people. Those people are not the same people that some of the folks on this board are referring to but were those people like James Baldwin , Ralph Ellison who lived in my aunt's building in New York, Dr King, Duke Ellington and you know the drill. They didn't teach me much about Africa. I learned that on my own. When the Afro-Centrics refer to Africa I do wonder what Africa do they refer to. Do they refer to those from the countries that sold our folks into slavery with little or no help from white folks or to Rowanda where they didn't need a single white person to help them slaughter, rape, burn, maim and dehumanize over a million of their own people. Can we now blame the white man man for all the fascist militaristic, gay killing countries all over the "Motherland". Countries who would not have so much as a light bulb or working toilet if it was not for European technology! I want no part of it. I am proud to be a black American without being a nationalist and without Negroes like Lil' Wayne, Ice T, Chancellor Williams, Michael Eric Dyson, Clarence Thomas, Jesse Jackson, Lil Kim, Remy Ma and a list of minstrel buffoonsthat make me ashamed to be black. If I am a self hater then so be it! The hell with these Negroes who have to go way past our own rich positive cultural heroes to a phony romantic view of a diverse continent like Africa to explain our current state of pathetic affairs. If you just look at our music right now you will agree with Chaka Khan who said over 10 years ago that we are in the dark ages of music. I would add that we are in the dark ages of cultural awareness and people like Malcolm X and Dr King are turning over in their graves. This generation with their coonery, buffonery and slave mentality have reversed everything that my parents fought for. I hold out little hope for the American Negro. They are a victim of the slave mentality. I could now care less about the parents of the little kids I take care of in my practice. There is no hope for them and they have only their selves to blame. I just hope that these kids will hark back to their real heritage and culture and wake up. Thank God for people like you.
  3. It is difficult to know how to respond to most of this Afro-Centric nationalistic nonsense spouting forth as practical informed academic research that somehow translates into a real world meaning for a young black teenage mother in New Haven trying forge her identity and that of her child's by naming her Shaquinta. Let us assume that we accept Asar Imhotep's argument that this validated and perfectly acceptable child naming has its roots in Africa, a country I still contend that the average clown coming up with these names knows nothing about. And let us all agree they have a perfect right to name their child anything they want. God bless them. This is America and one of its greatest assets is that we can do things like that and not go to jail. But at the end of the day, the so called Negro will still have to advance in this rough, wicked world and distancing ones self from the negative and stereotypical behaviors of this current ghetto mentality generation is going to be paramount to making it. Not by so called European standards but by world standards. I might add here that just because somebody thinks a behavior is negative they are not self hating. The Nation of Islam, whether you agree or disagree with their philosophy, has been ranting and raving for years about not only these ridiculous names but other behaviors like Negro teen promiscuity, profanity, dressing like clowns and buffoons, talking ignorant, using the "N" word and all the other self destructive behavior, and no one could hardly call them self hating! I happen to think that Lil' Wayne as well as Mantan Moreland and Stepin Fetchit all present a negative image of Negroes but I am not self hating. I happen to think that our culture is so rich in positive contributions to the world that you never have to point back to Africa to find that richness. One only has to look at the writers of the Harlem Renaissance and beyond or the music of John Coltrane, Edward Kennedy Ellington, Thelonius Monk, Nina Simone or the current writings of Walter Mosley or the historic writings of Carter Woodson and John Hope Franklin which should allow us to put aside these romantic musings about Africa. I will have more to say later on what my Nigerian and Zambian friends have to say about their observations regarding the current Negro generation and their so called African cultural traditions.
  4. Asar Do not get me wrong. Your name has a real cultural and historic meaning. It was well thought out with great deliberation and it helps define who you are. That being said, my original argument still stands. The people that are making up these names will haunt their children's careers for life. And yes it does matter what society thinks as as far as career development unless you want to be on MTV or play in the NBA. Otherwise you can stay a player on the street, get your little welfare check and other handouts from the Man but show your defiance cause you are Shaniqua and don't give a damn what anybody thinks. The real culture that we should be embracing is the culture that has been laid down by people like Jean Toomer, Chester Himes, Paul Robeson, John Coltrane, Langston Hughes, Charlie Parker, James Baldwin, Ralph Ellison , Dr King, Malcolm X and many more. What kept them from naming their offspring Lakayla or Lebron? Black folks have enough richness and heritage in their background through people whose works and words have passed the test of time that we don't need to celebrate the minstrel culture that this latest generation is creating as if it is some type of Afrocentric genius and creativity. White people and older school black folks see it as what Xeon correctly calls "Coonology" cause that is what it is. If that has something to do with Africa then I do not want any part of Africa!
  5. Asar Do not get me wrong. Your name has a real cultural and historic meaning. It was well thought out with great deliberation and it helps define who you are. That being said, my original argument still stands. The people that are making up these names will haunt their children's careers for life. And yes it does matter what society thinks as as far as career development unless you want to be on MTV or play in the NBA. Otherwise you can stay a player on the street, get your little welfare check and other handouts from the Man but show your defiance cause you are Shaniqua and don't give a damn what anybody thinks. The real culture that we should be embracing is the culture that has been laid down by people like Jean Toomer, Chester Himes, Paul Robeson, John Coltrane, Langston Hughes, Charlie Parker, James Baldwin, Ralph Ellison , Dr King, Malcolm X and many more. What kept them from naming their offspring Lakayla or Lebron? Black folks have enough richness and heritage in their background through people whose works and words have passed the test of time that we don't need to celebrate the minstrel culture that this latest generation is creating as if it is some type of Afrocentric genius and creativity. White people and older school black folks see it as what Xeon correctly calls "Coonology" cause that is what it is. If that has something to do with Africa then I do not want any part of Africa!
  6. Sorry but using an Afro-centric argument to justify the absurd , self degrading and ignorant process of the current "naming rituals" of the so called American Negro is disingenuous. The fact is that these young stupid kids have zero knowledge of their African heritage. They couldn't tell you the name of more than two countries in Africa, where they are located, what type of government they have and what the countries current history of human rights violation is, let alone how they go about naming their children. If we use Imhotep's argument of awareness of the so called African tradition then at the height of the civil rights movement when Negroes were at their most advanced political, social and self awareness in history why didn't they choose those names? The fact remains that this type of naming is not a result of slavery or harkening back to the old African ways. It is symbolic of a generation of lost souls who have created their own culture steeped and wallowing in complete ignorance with things like Hip-Hop, pants falling off the asses, Ebonics and a host of other things that I do not even have time to list! The folks that are naming their children these ridiculous names do not even know how to spell them. They are for the most part uneducated and yes stupid and will propagate another generation of ignorant-ass Negroes that will further bring us down to a new low. Never mind what white people do about crazy names. They run society and I could care less what crazy names they pick. We as black folk have, through our own misdeeds, pushed ourselves to the bottom of the totem pole and need to do what we can to bring ourselves up. Somebody named Laquisha will likely be taking orders at Denny's or if the are lucky might get a job at the DMV, but I assure you, unless they change their name, will likely not be serving on the board of directors of Intel or own a car dealership. As far as that ridiculous list from the social security, I don't think that wins any argument. I am a pediatrician in a big inner city children's hospital and I see these names each and every day. I always see the name before I see the child and can tell you with virtual certainty if the patient has a name like Diwayne or Laquanda that they will not be white, Hispanic or Native American. I can also tell you how they will be dressed, how they will talk and if that is likely to be a single mom. Not rocket science - just fact.
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