Comments on: Money Monday: Should You Hide Your African-American Sounding Name Just To Land A Job?

By: Chundra Rambert

Chundra Rambert — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 14:27:15 +0000

Well the only thing I have had trouble with my name is getting white people to pronounce it right. When people ask my name I say it wrong on purpose because it is easier to say my name with an S. I was suppose to go by Evette in College but forgot to do it. I am black with natural hair and I work in a rich mall in Atlanta, GA so I am just the lucky one that have been able to get jobs.

By: kita b.

kita b. — Wed, 20 Jun 2012 22:05:06 +0000

My 1st name is Laquita and unfortunately I have been discriminated against in the area of looking for a house or apartment. Landlords are now screening voicemail messages and if you sound black you are more likely to NOT get a call back. But you can’t place all the blame on the renter because many have given chances to black people only to have their property condemned or destroyed.

So now they are scared to rent to us for our name and our lifestyle. Its a no win situation either way. Its not fair. This has been going on for years! SMH

By: Yana

Yana — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 17:40:25 +0000

Are we asking about african-american sounding names or ghetto sounding names? To me those are two different questions. My name is Ayana and I have never tried to hide it and it’s never stopped (as far as I know) me from getting a job. I’m sure when most have seen my name on a resume that they likely knew I was black. I do think parents should think long and hard before giving their child a ghetto sounding name, because all to frequently frequently ghetto sounding names are associated with ghetto acting people. Save the Quantayniqua’s and Lay’Darshia’s for your children in your next life!

By: Danni

Danni — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 14:14:41 +0000

The acceptance of Ethnic names are relative to ones location. Zarah, an Arabic name, is considered “exotic and intriguing”, Loquisha (often identified as an urban American name) is denoted as “gutter and ghetto”. Anyone who thinks they can predict an individuals actions and attitude by their name is sadly misguided. Although as I wrote in an article for Ashy2classy.net, I wonder if the names and nick names we give to our children is damaging…http://ashy2classy.net/2012/06/06/rubber-lip-are-afro-american-nick-names-damaging-to-our-children/

By: CWalkerB

CWalkerB — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 13:36:36 +0000

It depends upon the field and whose doing the resume reviewing. In fields where ethnic minorities are severely underrepresented and the employer is trying to increase its diversity, having an “ethnic” name could potentially an advantage. It won’t land the job, but it might get your resume a closer look when it’s one of many for a position.

But those are probably rarer than those cases where someone’s prejudice makes them assume that an African-American sounding name means that someone is less capable.

Of course, as what gets marked as an African-American name changes over time, that may change as well. I’ve heard of educated White women named Kenya and Lakeisha recently!

By: Lamar Tyler

Lamar Tyler — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 13:10:57 +0000

I think part of the point is that once you get into the interview you can debunk any misconceptions and prejudices they may have about you by showing them that you know your stuff. If you get ruled about before you get to that point that never happens.

I wouldn’t do it but I’m just saying…

By: Tiara

Tiara — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 12:38:19 +0000

Great point!

By: Tiara

Tiara — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 12:37:48 +0000

I have a “black” sounding name and I am a gainfully employed attorney with natural hair. I believe my education and qualifications spoke louder than my “ethnic” sounding name. Truth is, you can only hide being black for so long – once you get called in for an interview, the gig is up. If you start hiding before you even walk in the door, you are already setting yourself up for failure.

By: Aja

Aja — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 11:28:52 +0000

Here is the question that I have whenever I see this research, but I haven’t gotten an answer yet: If a company is willing to overlook you because your name might identify you as black, even if you can “pass” on paper, you will still be black in real life, and probably can’t pass once you get the interview. So even if the resume gets you the interview, if the company is anti-black candidate, how likely is it that you will actually get the job?

Where I would love to see further investigation, is whether applications with “white-sounding” names actually end up getting the job more often than others, even if their resumes get call backs. My guess is no. My issue with the whole thing is that our reaction as blacks is to say “change our names” rather than address the actual racism in hiring, which is going to be the biggest factor at the end of the day, since you can’t “hide” your blackness forever.