Kamala (Comma-La) Harris is the Vice President of the United States.
She is also the Democratic candidate for president of the United States. Certainly, she deserves to have her name pronounced correctly. Yet, she’s received disrespect from conservatives. During a roundtable discussion on CNN, Congresswoman Nancy Lace (R-SC) blatantly mispronounced the Vice President’s name.
The Congresswoman said she would “say Kamala’s name any way that I want to.”
If the Vice President of the United States cannot elicit the respect of her peers and those who disagree with her policy stances to simply get her name right when speaking to or about her, who can?
It’s no wonder that Black and Brown children constantly hear their names mispronounced by people who could care less about whether or not they say it correctly… and these are supposed to be educators—people invested in the lives of all children. Sadly, we know that’s simply not true.
Whether roll call for attendance or conferring a diploma at a graduation, Black and Brown children are subject to their names being mispronounced. I cannot count how many graduations I’ve attended where the student body is overwhelmingly Black and Latino/a/x and names are regularly butchered by the announcer.
It’s embarrassing; not for the students (although they may feel that way). It is embarrassing for a school that had up to four years to learn the pronunciation of the students in their care.
A common fail-safe is for a child to alter their name or give themselves a whole new name to compensate for the struggles or ignorance of their teachers. In that case, the burden is placed on the child and that is unfair. Yet, many educators allow for that burden to be carried by a child, while simultaneously “advocating” that kids be allowed to be kids; shaming parents for the stressors they place on their children while they fail to look in the mirror.
Names are important. They have meaning and value. When a child endures the constant mispronunciation of their name, it’s frustrating, upsetting, and deflating. Sadly, it becomes expected in the mind of a child whose name is constantly butchered by adults. Of course, the initial mispronunciation isn’t a cardinal sin. But the constant mispronunciation of a name is a sin. It communicates to a child that you don’t care enough about who I am—or respect the heritage of whom I come from—to say my name properly.
In his infamous “Pound Cake” speech, Bill Cosby displayed a level of ignorance and disregard for the names of Black children; levying blame on Black parents for not giving Black children names that can be easily said.
It’s proof that ignorance stretches across racial lines, but it also proves that racism exists and that our children are recipients of that racism… and it is harmful. Racism harms the mental health of Black children… even before birth. By preschool, Black children, Black children confront anti-Black racism from white children their age who developed negative attitudes towards Black children… they also confront it from adults, who overly and disproportionately suspend, expel, and refer Black children to be arrested because they believe Black children to be more dangerous. Additionally, they don’t have the same expectations for Black students as they do for white students.
Sadly, we live in a time where ignorance and racism are sometimes a prerequisite for political office… the same can be said for educators because MAGA is as present in classrooms as it is at political rallies and the voting booth.
I don’t suspect that all white teachers are MAGA. But what I do know is many white folks are unaware of how their actions perpetuate racism and how they benefit from an anti-Black society, even if they don’t have a racist bone in their body.
Entering the new school year, educators need to add a new wrinkle to their repertoire like athletes who play a sport. A new wrinkle for many educators should be ensuring they say their students’ names right. Under no circumstances should a child go out of their way to make a teacher feel comfortable by adapting their name.
Educators must learn the given name of a child and pronounce it properly.
Respect is something teachers demand immediately. They should be sure to give it to young people immediately. If not, I promise you that it’ll be a long year for that teacher. Sometimes, what we need to have isn’t professional development. Rather we simply need to have common decency.
