Your Mouth Will Learn To Pronounce My Name

if your name is chimamanda, lil milagro, nahnatchka, nhất hạnh, quvenzhané or bon’quisha then there is always a moment when you introduce your self where the other person’s face will contort. they may scratch their chin or give some other signal that they are being inconvenienced. i know at first it may seem like you are troubling them. but you are not an inconvenience. this is an awesome learning opportunity for them. smile at their clumsy pronunciation and say it again. allow them the OPPORTUNITY to repeat it. it’s such an exciting moment for them because they have the pleasure of going on a 60 second adventure outside the normalcy of standard american english.

laugh gently, and SAY YOUR NAME AGAIN. smile at them so that your contagious smile infects THEIR face with appreciation for this moment. you don’t want your name recited with frowning lips.

correct them AGAIN. this last time put some umph into it, let it resound from the pit of your stomach. today you love the sound your name makes when it hits the air. correct people until YOU are satisfied.

of course their attempts will always fall short of the way your momma and daddy say it. but putting in an authentic amount of effort means that they are traveling the distance necessary to know who you are. you will travel this same distance to get to know who they are. if they have the pleasure of coming into contact with GREATNESS today, then they have the responsibility of not ignoring your ancestors and the traditions of genius that went into the conception of that name. if this is ever to be a free country, then it will have to be one where its citizens can make reference to the human beings that live here.

today is “DO NOT LET PEOPLE CALL YOU OUT YO NAME DAY.” and we’ll see how long this day lasts, in mixed company…