We have Slave Names by Malcolm X

[KingKhanWC]

Malcolm was a true hero, a great man no doubt.

Why do people of African descent still use their slave masters names, such as Smith, Brown, Harris, Turner etc.

Surely one would ditch their surname which originates from a slave master?

 

[marlonbrowndo]

Great man. Joey Bada$$ mentions this in his song Land of The Free as well

 

[marlonbrowndo]

Great man. Joey Bada$$ mentions this in his song Land of The Free as well

[MENTION=46929]shaz619[/MENTION] check it out. The whole album in fact

 

[KingKhanWC]

Great man. Joey Bada$$ mentions this in his song Land of The Free as well

The Killers? Not heard it but will give it a spin.

What is your view? Should people who have slave master names get rid of them or should they keep them? I tend to agree with Malcolm X, they should get rid of them.

 

[marlonbrowndo]

The Killers? Not heard it but will give it a spin.

What is your view? Should people who have slave master names get rid of them or should they keep them? I tend to agree with Malcolm X, they should get rid of them.

I agree as well. Although they are a reminder of the racism that is still deep rooted in America

 

[Robert]

Why do people of African descent still use their slave masters names, such as Smith, Brown, Harris, Turner etc.

Mrs Robert says “Because it’s mine now, I got it from my Dad, not some dead white bloke”.

 

[kingusama92]

Another perspective is to take ownership of the name and make it your own.

Similar to the N word for African Americans.

 

[troodon]

Nobody is stopping African Americans from naming their kids African names.

Everyone should go back to their true names. Including Pakistanis. You guys all have Arab names. Muslim names existed in Arabia before Islam came into picture.

 

[barah_admi]

Mrs Robert says “Because it’s mine now, I got it from my Dad, not some dead white bloke”.

But her dad or her grandad got it from "some dead white bloke".

The real reason is, as obvious as it may seem now, most black people in western society, with these names, do not even know why they have these names. A lot of the ancestors of these same black did not know they even had a history pre slavery, it took 100 + years to educate an entire nation on that, so embedded was/is the slave mentality.

This is the truest, darkest, most deprived legacy of the slave trade.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Mrs Robert says “Because it’s mine now, I got it from my Dad, not some dead white bloke”.

Its up to the individual.

I would change it regardless if my parents gave me the name. I dont think I would be comfortable having the surname of a person who abused my anscestors and others from my background.

Also a lot of slaves were not Christians and along with the name their religion was taken away from them.

 

[shaz619]

Great man. Joey Bada$$ mentions this in his song Land of The Free as well

One hell of a talent, refreshing to see him in this era

 

[shaz619]

The Killers? Not heard it but will give it a spin.

What is your view? Should people who have slave master names get rid of them or should they keep them? I tend to agree with Malcolm X, they should get rid of them.

The worlds heavyweight champion Mr. Anthony dislikes your post

 

[shaz619]

Malcolm was a true hero, a great man no doubt.

Why do people of African descent still use their slave masters names, such as Smith, Brown, Harris, Turner etc.

Surely one would ditch their surname which originates from a slave master?

Honestly though I have seen so many african uncle toms it's unreal, I don't know if it's just their personality or some type of pressure from a young stage to behave a certain way which then translated into their complete persona/character, it's often those from afluent backgrounds that come over here to study or gain citizenship over a long period. Proper baysti bro some asians be like that to, had an argument with someone over this just today, so many damn coconuts it makes me feel sick

 

[Robert]

But her dad or her grandad got it from "some dead white bloke".

The real reason is, as obvious as it may seem now, most black people in western society, with these names, do not even know why they have these names. A lot of the ancestors of these same black did not know they even had a history pre slavery, it took 100 + years to educate an entire nation on that, so embedded was/is the slave mentality.

This is the truest, darkest, most deprived legacy of the slave trade.

I think the fifteen million (perhaps many more) dead was the truest darkest legacy.

All the British Blacks I know have a pretty good idea of the history of the plantation their ancestors were on. The National Archives in Kew is a good resource for finding where the slaver ships came from. We went to The Gambia to explore further.

 

[gazza619]

What an amazing interview. What an amazing guy. Wish we have more guys like him in this world.

 

[James]

This one is up to the individual.

There’s a separate debate amongst the African intelligentsia as to whether they should accept the colonial tongue and be writing in English and French, or instead should they reclaim their indigenous identities by learning the older local languages.
There is huge division on this question, primarily because the latter option would be more ideal and natural, but the former approach allows their stories to reach a much wider audience.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Honestly though I have seen so many african uncle toms it's unreal, I don't know if it's just their personality or some type of pressure from a young stage to behave a certain way which then translated into their complete persona/character, it's often those from afluent backgrounds that come over here to study or gain citizenship over a long period. Proper baysti bro some asians be like that to, had an argument with someone over this just today, so many damn coconuts it makes me feel sick

Too many are embarrased by their backgrounds. Everyone should appreciate their history, Africa has so much great history but much of it has been hidden but people should research and correct it as much as they can, getting rid of names is a good start but it's up to the invidual. You're right Asians can also be the biggest coconuts. I saw one bloke hugging Tommy Robinson thnking he can change him and recently a group of cocunut Imams travelled to the holy land on the invitation of Israel. They are being played to be modern day slaves and be divided from everyone else.

 

[KingKhanWC]

This one is up to the individual.

There’s a separate debate amongst the African intelligentsia as to whether they should accept the colonial tongue and be writing in English and French, or instead should they reclaim their indigenous identities by learning the older local languages.
There is huge division on this question, primarily because the latter option would be more ideal and natural, but the former approach allows their stories to reach a much wider audience.

Fair point James but I think their stories would reach a wider audience if they did what Malcolm did as people would ask why you have shed the name you were born with?

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

Great man. I love listening to his speeches. Really a inspiration for all.

 

[PakLFC]

Too bad he initially got involved with the nation of Islam cult.

 

[Gharib Aadmi]

Nobody is stopping African Americans from naming their kids African names.

Everyone should go back to their true names. Including Pakistanis. You guys all have Arab names. Muslim names existed in Arabia before Islam came into picture.

Malcolm X is talking about surnames not first names. African Americans surnames are the names of a family who literally owned them. Thats why Malcolm Little changed his name to Malcolm X, he wanted to get rid of the surname "Little", which was the "slavename".

As far as first names people usually give names associated with their religion or names that come from their culture. So Christians through planet Earth will have names from Bible (Hebrew origin), and their local language. Muslims do the same thing. However in the subcontinent since Persian was the lingua franca for 1,000 years Muslims who want to give their children cultural names use Persian and not Sanskrit. Most likely you cant differentiate between Persian and Arabic names so you think they are the same. Let me give an example:

Fatima Bhutto - Arabic origin name
Shireen Mazari - Persian origin name
Shahrukh Khan - Persian origin name
Salman Khan - Arabic origin name

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Nobody is stopping African Americans from naming their kids African names.

Everyone should go back to their true names. Including Pakistanis. You guys all have Arab names. Muslim names existed in Arabia before Islam came into picture.

A name is first and foremost about identity. Pakistanis often do keep their old tribal names which are caste based, it isn't an obligation to keep Arab names in Islam. But in today's world even many Indians don't identify with the old Hindu names, we see many in the UK taking on Christian first names like Johnny or Bobby. It's just a name at the end of the day, you don't have to attach historical importance to it if you don't want to.

 

[Robert]

Its up to the individual.

I would change it regardless if my parents gave me the name. I dont think I would be comfortable having the surname of a person who abused my anscestors and others from my background.

Also a lot of slaves were not Christians and along with the name their religion was taken away from them.

Those abusers are long in their graves. Having the same name as them is no connection, unless one chooses so.

Identity is complex. A lot of Caribbeans immigrants to the U.K. and their children are strongly Christian.

Mrs Robert’s mother was born in a nation which was a slave state yet felt fiercely British. “I was born under the British flag!” she would exclaim with vehement pride. If someone had called her an Aunt Thomasina for this, she would have eaten their head off.

The American black experience is different because slavery was abolished there later than in the British Empire, and was replaced by Jim Crow laws to continue the oppression, and American blacks didn’t even have the vote until 1968. So the abuse is more recent and the pain more immediate there. It’s still there here too, though. Look at what that blithering idiot comedian tweeted yesterday.

 

[James]

Fair point James but I think their stories would reach a wider audience if they did what Malcolm did as people would ask why you have shed the name you were born with?

It is much more difficult to get writing published internationally and translated if it is not originally written in commonly spoken languages.

Publishers will often not touch writing that is not written in either English, another major European language, or Arabic.

There is the ideal situation and then there is the unfortunate, commercialised, real-life situation. This is why the African writers remain divided on the question. (It is also why most writers from Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka choose English.)

In an ideal world I absolutely agree with you, it would be preferable to return to indigenous dialects. If writers are to make an impact and make a living though, it’s never quite that simple.

 

[Pakistanian]

Nobody is stopping African Americans from naming their kids African names.

Everyone should go back to their true names. Including Pakistanis. You guys all have Arab names. Muslim names existed in Arabia before Islam came into picture.

Was expecting your comment along those lines . This topic is a little too high brow for you.

 

[miandadrules]

Malcolm was a true hero, a great man no doubt.

Why do people of African descent still use their slave masters names, such as Smith, Brown, Harris, Turner etc.

Surely one would ditch their surname which originates from a slave master?

You have an issue with the names but seem very comfortable with the context of slavery, as long as it’s cloaked in Islam.

 

[miandadrules]

Slightly off topic.

I recommend a book I read recently which shows the brutality of the institution of slavery.

A Muslim American slave, the Arabic life of Omar Ibn Said. He was an educated man when he was enslaved and brought to America. He wrote his account in Arabic.

 

[barah_admi]

I think the fifteen million (perhaps many more) dead was the truest darkest legacy.

All the British Blacks I know have a pretty good idea of the history of the plantation their ancestors were on. The National Archives in Kew is a good resource for finding where the slaver ships came from. We went to The Gambia to explore further.

I agree, black people in Britain have a far greater understanding but this is mainly down to the fact that the majority of the AFrican migrant population in this country did not come in through slavery, they came in through migration in the second half of the 20th century.

The Caribbean population however still carry those names, many of the have no idea why they are called "Smith", "Brown", "White" etc, many of them do not even know that a little over 300 years ago black people were not living in the Caribbean.

This is the basis of what Malcolm X is saying i.e. an entire culture and society deprived of their own history.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Those abusers are long in their graves. Having the same name as them is no connection, unless one chooses so.

Identity is complex. A lot of Caribbeans immigrants to the U.K. and their children are strongly Christian.

Mrs Robert’s mother was born in a nation which was a slave state yet felt fiercely British. “I was born under the British flag!” she would exclaim with vehement pride. If someone had called her an Aunt Thomasina for this, she would have eaten their head off.

The American black experience is different because slavery was abolished there later than in the British Empire, and was replaced by Jim Crow laws to continue the oppression, and American blacks didn’t even have the vote until 1968. So the abuse is more recent and the pain more immediate there. It’s still there here too, though. Look at what that blithering idiot comedian tweeted yesterday.

Im sure Mrs Robert is an honourable and amazing lady.

I dont see much difference between being a slave under the British or under Americans. I think its difficult for some to comprehend the gravity of what took place with their ancestors so will now just want to live their life as it is. Not everyone can be like the great Malcolm X, most people will have fear of changing themselves or looking back into their past. How many actually have researched their family tree or want to know which part of Afica they originated from etc? Not many I guess. I would.

 

[Robert]

Im sure Mrs Robert is an honourable and amazing lady.

I dont see much difference between being a slave under the British or under Americans. I think its difficult for some to comprehend the gravity of what took place with their ancestors so will now just want to live their life as it is. Not everyone can be like the great Malcolm X, most people will have fear of changing themselves or looking back into their past. How many actually have researched their family tree or want to know which part of Afica they originated from etc? Not many I guess. I would.

The admirable Malcolm X came up in a milieu where blacks didn't have the vote, were not protected under the law in the same way as whites, faced open discrimination, and state governors could be full-on racists and get re-elected.

The British black experience is somewhat different as they were enfranchised in the 1960s, and openly racist politicians such as Powell were censured. (Not for one moment claiming that they had to struggle against institutional and structural racism because they did.)

 

[KingKhanWC]

The admirable Malcolm X came up in a milieu where blacks didn't have the vote, were not protected under the law in the same way as whites, faced open discrimination, and state governors could be full-on racists and get re-elected.

The British black experience is somewhat different as they were enfranchised in the 1960s, and openly racist politicians such as Powell were censured. (Not for one moment claiming that they had to struggle against institutional and structural racism because they did.)

Fair point. If things are moving forward and you are being accepted the past is less to worry about. I just dont think I would be at all happy carrying a name which was to identify my ansectors as someone else property. Each to their own I guess.