Too many times parents give their children names they don’t know the meaning of. Sometimes they can hardly pronounce it. Names like John, James, Mary,Peter, etc. are too common for them.
They make up names like Daique, Maliqac, Cirtyuca, etc. They say names like John are the white man’s name. God created names, not man. God is not white for He is a spirit. None of the names they are giving to their Children are that of famous people if they were I would understand.
In this world today where racism is still alive you can see it everywhere if you know how to look for it.
In most stores in the USA the light skinned people are the ones at the front desk, whereas the dark skinned ones remain at the back. Not too long ago there was a lawsuit against one of the largest stores in the States because they were not giving the dark skinned workers a salary raise and were keeping them to the back of the store.
Take a look at firemen, policemen, etc. in the USA; most promotions are given to the whites, so why do we still insist in giving our children names like that? Anytime a person of colour sent a job application letter to most companies, and management notices that name all they do is shred the application. They don’t want people that look like us to represent their company, so please parents be careful of the names you give your kids. It might hinder him/her the rest of their lives.
Love and best wishes always. God bless.
What is the meaning of a name. Nothing to do with the skin, race, and ethnicity. It is time we wake up together.
stupid fool to write a book just to make a comment , newyorkers are so stupid im sure you working 3 jobs to pay your rent life is not better in the US so shut up and stay in the icebox
I read this article and the comments and I have to admit I am confused. Being a good person is about character and what we make for ourselves, no matter what name we hold. Remember all the debate about the President of the United States and his middle name – did that deter him from winning the Presidency? No it did not! We need to stand up as a people for ourselves. I remember being an A student all my life and having problems finding a job in Dominica. And I have a biblical name (I hope to God that’s not why they didn’t hire me – lol). But seriously, being great is about standing out, no matter what name we hold. And this white man black man business. Surprisingly I have started school and met white male professors who have gone out of the way to help me more than my black people have done in my whole lifetime. In addition, I have been discriminated in Dominica for my dreadlocks and never suffered this discrimination where I live now. Isn’t that strange???
Desiree, you & JD could not be more correct like you ,i won’t bother to repeat as you have both places the new cap on the spewing of Pastor Pacquette’s nonsensical- verbal Well.
everyone has the right to talk their crap but this Pastor has done so before.sometime ago he bleached some crap about slave mentality etc. I did try to educate this psuedo leader of an unfortunate folk but it is obvious he did not get the message. their a few persons in our society who tell themselves they have something to contribute and take it upon themselves to just shoot crap and pastor pacquette is one of them. We have politicians like that too even become minisiters of gov’t and party leaders then P.Ms. Sometimes i feel these guys were abandoned by their parents and raised by wolves ,manicous etc.
Well said!!!@Desiree:
I am a Dominican by birth but lived most of my life in the US. I resided in the roughest part of NYC but I went to one the country’s best high schools and universities. I have lots of friends with “so called” black names and “so called” white names. I believe that if a company judges you by your name, they are not worthy of you. There is no way I would throw out Lakwanda Jones’ resume, which boasts her MBA to hire Mary Smith which boasts her high school diploma because she has a “white name.” Someone before me, said it all. Thanks JD and I will not reiterate.
Pastor what do you think of names like these, and I thank God their resumes weren’t tossed out because their names are surely not the so called, “white hiring names.”
Kweisi Mfume, Quincy Jones (It has a Q in it), Barack Obama (had I named my son Barack before we knew the name, I know the pastor would laugh), Aaliyah, Wyclef Jean, Eartha Kitt, Jamaica Kincaid, Spike Lee, Wynton Marsalis, Thurgood Marshall, Hakeem Olajuwan, Shaquille O’Neal, Sanaa Lathan, Antwan Patton (Big Boi), Condoleeza Rice, Smokey Robinson, Tupac Shakur, Latrell Sprewell, Sojourner Truth, Cicely Tyson, Denzel Washington, Damon Wayans, Kanye West, Forest Whitaker, Oprah Winfrey, Tiger Woods, Beyonce Knowles, Latifah, Rhianna, Marquis Houston, Malik Yoba, Tyson Beckford, Nia Long, Mekhi Phiffer, Tyrese and many more…
Conclusion:
We have been doped into not loving anything about ourselves especially our African-ness (i know that is not a word). Everyone in the world wants to be black, look, walk, speak, dance and dress like black folks except us…this article serves no purpose other than to continue “the whiter the righter” theory us blacks base our existance on.
Many higher bracket entrepreneurs would hire a Lashonda Astaphan or a Daquan Karam over Jane Smith or John David regardless of their credentials. To that, let us all say AMEN.
To Justice is better than peace
You could not have said it better.. Our people are so entwined by the white man’s religion that they don’t know the truth from the lie because they have believed the lie for so long. Wake up people. Religion is what has ruled us since slavery times and we are not trying to break away from it..
@HmmHmm:
It is so true about the name you give to your children or even your nickname. Sometimes telling the truth maybe painful but it is the truth. When you give a child a name – everytime you call him or her you are speaking into that child’s life.
Remember we are also a spirit being not only human and therefore everything we do and say has a spirit attached to it (good or bad) – You may agree or not but it is the truth.
There are no good names when it has the letter “Q” in it. No good names have “Q”. I think if we stick to that rule everyone should be okay!
Whoa! What da heck was the point of this article…DNO please…tell Pastor Rawle give you something subtantial to publish
To Rawles pacquette. You are so wrong in most of what you wrote. In Dominica it is the same as in the United States probably even worse because it’s among the blacks. In the banks in Dominica it is the same darn thing. You see all the light skinned people in the banks in Dominica at the cashiers registers too. Let us clean our back yards before we try to clean up Americas back yard. Too often we try to kiss the white man’s behind, and let them manipulate us that’s why we were slaves to begin with . Our leaders including people like you, started and promoted slavery years ago. It was leaders like you that let the white man manipulate you and started slavery. They tell us what to wear , how to pray, what to eat, what to name our children. About applying for jobs in the USa with uncommon name. Where is your wisdon? Even with the name john and mary a black person applies for a job in the USA when they are called to the job interview and they see the skin colour behind the name John or mary they tell you,”call back and never offer you a job. Wake up people this is 2010. This world is controlled by white Christain males of European descent, Do not be manipulated by this Vultures. Wake up.
I think the title of this articel is very true, however, the content is opinionative, distorted and ignorant. What does the complexion of my skin have to do with my name? You went way off on a tangent there buddy. If this is what you will be teaching your congregation i sincerely understand why so many dominicans are so ignorant and backward thinking.
I understand the significance of one’s name and how it may affect their chances, but this content u’ve written is about something else.
@Joyful; the reason why we are ashamed of each other is because of what slavery has done to us and we still let other races dictate to us making us think we are less than them. The damage of slavery has been ingrained in our psyche and a lot of us are not willing to shake it off and try to be proud of our race as a people. Some of us see ourselves in every other race but who we truly are. We don ‘t like to be called African because we say that we were not born in Africa. Africa is the continent that our forefathers came from but yet still we are scared to be Africans.
As for me, I am aware of my identity and I am not ashamed to say that I am of African descent. I am not from European, Indian, Asian or Hispanic descent so why should I be ashamed. As for my son his name is of great meaning and significance. He does not have any name but what he is descended from.
@JD: You hit the nail on the head….It’s about raising your kids to be good people…not what your names so you could get a job…Racism is not about a name it’s about skin color.
All of you are part of the problem why this will persist, where names will have negative connotations to them. The name doesn’t make the person unemployable, the upbringing does so it doesn’t matter what you name your kids if they are not right for the job the name will not change that.
What has to happen is that the cultures that choose to use the the non “white” names need to start proving that the name doesn’t define the person by teaching the proper values. Some cultures in the US have the long standing stigma that they are lazy and uneducated, which is true for many reasons and that’s the major reason why the resumes are shredded. Slowly this has started to change which is a good thing. Blacks have to erase the stigma by improving their work ethic, education standards, stop being the victim all the time others should not be blamed for your short comings. I live in the US and I see it all the time people playing the role of the angry victim…if collectively everyone improve themselves then over time you name will not matter.
You could be named “John” and get the interview for example, but if the mentality of the interviewer is negative against blacks it doesn’t really matter what your name is you will not get the job.
So my point is the Pastor brought the wrong message with his article…it should have been about community/ culture refining to avoid being judged unfairly.
that is so true, due to the specification of the name given to children causes a road block for them and they even end up hating their own name. parents need to give their children names to represent them in a good and polite way.
think before givin children names.
The pastor’s comments reflect an unfortunate view that, sadly, is widely held. Names should generally, and ideally, reflect one’s culture. Thus, when you hear the name Wang Li, you reasonably expect to be dealing with a Chinese; the name Juan Carlos suggests a Spanish/Hispanic person. We Caribean people are among the exceptions, if not unique, in our universal adoption of the names of our former slave masters, names that say nothing of our own cultural identity. What identity does the name “Rawls Pacquette” suggest to you? It may well be that if your child has an “African-American” name, s/he will encounter additional discrimination because of that name. But s/he will also inevitably encounter discrimination because of skin colour, hair texture, thickness of lips, etc. Is the pastor advocating that our children bleach their skin, fry their hair, have cosmetic surgery on their lips (all a la Michael Jackson) to avoid this discrimination? Nonsense. I say that parents should proudly give their children names that reflect their ethnicity and culture, and raise children who are well eductated, diligent and are knowledgeable of their proud history, tools that will enable them to overcome the racial discrimination that will inevitably come their way. It is regretable that people with retrograde views like Rawls Pacquette occupy positions of leadership in our society.
It is indeed very true and the real ignorance is in the majority of the above comments!
It’s extremely apparant in today’s society that when it comes to hiring, the employers will choose ‘James’ over ‘Kahmed’ and ‘Christina’ over ‘Tequia’. How professional would it be to have an executive named ‘Shahenede Peter’? Stop blaming the Pastor and think about it…if you guys continue to give your children such animated names, they WILL remain at the back of the store! Prosepctive employees are judged long before a face-to-face interview, believe me.
While the article may not have been written the best way, having studied in the USA, I am able to appreciate what the Pastor is saying. These are things that were highlighted in our classrooms and not only by black teachers but white teachers too. It also came up when we were having career fairs.
Companies do “destroy” your application just by looking at your name. believe it or not. Certain names are often deemed to come from certain neighbourhoods. For example the L’Shauns, D’Shauns, Shanequia, Lateesha etc…are often considered to be “Ghetto” names.
That’s just the ways it is. So, those of you who have intentions of moving to the US, please bear this in mind when naming your children.
lol what an ignorant article. Seems like narrow minded people still run around on this earth
@Out of South City: we ourselves at not even accepting of other blacks. We discriminate against Haitians, we discriminate against Africans themselves. Sometimes, I ashame of how blacks are so hating of other blacks. Who do you expect to label our race for us, when we are unsure of who we are. Well, America is close enough, they call us, African American.
@Gary: why dont you see the relevance in his statemnt than being so critical. you were not asked to change names. read again and yes be careful the names you give to your children. names are important> names have meanings and names can influence people’s behaviour. people must be cautious of that. lets just imagine that someone’s name or nickname is judas , satan, lucifer, then what does thus imply? it goes on and on
now a child nickname may be *gwo tete* or *sex dog* then don”t these imply something negative. by the way i do know the ppl who are called these names.
much less for the birth names we actually give our children. aren’t this far more important and says why we should exercise precaution when giving names to our children?
ur funny..i was asking myself the same thing..lol
This is a very serious topic because of the reality of it. Names also have implications. If you take a look at the way Africans name their children, there is always a meaning behind it. The same with the bible. People do name their children foolishly not knowing the connotations behind it, it could either be a blessing or a curse. Name your child positively so that the child will grow under the anointing of that name. The children with the “qua’s and the apostrophes in their name often are neglected when it comes to being selected for jobs. What’s in a name you ask, but that is just the reality of profiling in the world which we are living in.
Why should we continue to give our children the slave master’s names and not name them ourselves? What exactly is your point by what you are trying to say? If God is a spirit how did he happen to give names? Regardless of what we name our children these people will still not accept us for who we are because it’s just their nature.
As far as job applications I think what really gets us is the race and not just the name. Why aren’t the applications written African instead of black? People from Asia are known as Asians, those of Spanish descent are Hispanics, those from India are Indians, the Europeans are Caucasians but when it comes to us we are blacks. We have an African ancestry yet we are ashamed to be called Africans.
well some people on here tryna turn a blind eye,,,,, we all have some commonsense to understand what the pastor or whoever is tryna say jus that he or she did not put much effort into it,,,,, but names given to our children should be well thought of cause their can be repercussions,,, the most common one happens in the most critical times,,,, yes when the child is growing up,,,,, think of all the teasing and fighting that YOUR child will go through in school over a silly thought up name u gave him/her,,,,, yes that can result in low self esteem,,,,, preventing or hindering your child from learning to the full ability and u better believe that will affect ur child through out his/her childhood into adolescence,,,,, and the thing about the name on application,,,, you all think is joke,,, well jus imagine ur a white man sitting at ur desk and u see an application with a name SHUANIQUA JUANIQUA ETC and the person from like the roughest areas in NYC,,, regardless of qualification most times that application goes straight to the bin as opposed to names like janet,, jane,,, rebecca,,, mary jane,,,, sharon,,, evona,, ,, mary,,, macy,,,, cause u doh want no drama in ur office
n we to hypocrite i almost forgot we in d.a do the same to our people,,,, once we see an application and the person from gutter,,, tarish pit or some poor community we seem to label them,,, so allu know exactly wat the writer talking bout
Pastor Rawls what is it you’re trying to accomplish or say. I think you just love the spot light, and want to be out there, image, publicity,that’s what it is. As a Pastor, is this the best advise you can give to Parents? Why do you still have the last name “Pacquette “isn’t it a name when seen for the first time sounds weird. Have you ever been rejected for employment because of your last name.? Your son just graduated and is going to seek employment in his field , as a Parent are you going to advise him to change the “Pacquette”. name so he
will not be rejected when he starts sending out applications for employment.
Oh you forgot one thing, the best names Parents should give their children, what about Jesus, Adam, Jeremiah and Abram. Pastor Rawls you just seems to amuse me every time. What is coming up next week looking forward to it.
agree with the writer. He could have made the article bit more explanatory. however, he is correct names are important. In the States u are in fact judged based on the name written on an application. The intent of this article was not to be racist. D/cans too shallow cannot understand past what is in ur faces.
Pastor, what were you drinking with your coffee when you wrote that article?
in the second paragraph ,line 3….did the writer say that god created names not man, i yet to understand what he meant .does that mean that god is the one that created names not man or god created names but he didn’t create man????
wow… that is all i can say
i am concerned that a pastor would write such a racist article. He need to look at Matthew 5:1-7 again.
with this kind of thinkin, no wonder dominica sufferin
I agree; the writer was all over the place. As an ex teacher, that paper would have received a failing grade from me. Nonetheless, the sentiments raised, are worth consideration.
should have used other methods and examples of explaining that. I don’t think that the racist approach worked well.
that story dont make sence!!!!!!!
names and color of skin!!