A Good "African" Name

Tonight I went to the local supermarket and as I was having my food scanned, I observed an interesting interaction between the cashier and a customer.  The customer was inquiring about the cashier's name then declared that it was a good "African" name.  Now, you have to know that this is coming from an older African gentleman speaking to a person who has dark skin.  She proceeded to tell him in a diplomatic way that she was neither African nor her name. Yet he continued to state that her name sounded "African" and that it was a compliment to her by stating so.

As the cashier was scanning my items, she began to share some of her feelings with me and let me know that she was half Indian and that her name was actually made up by her parents; thus no African origin at all.  I told her how often people presume I'm a foreigner because of how I look when in fact my family has been here since the 40s and I was born and bred in the US.

This brief encounter reminded me how meaningful it is to have people understand where you are coming from as well as how complicated race, ethnicity and culture is in the US.  It was clear to me that this cashier wanted to be known for who she is apart from skin color; yet I know that if we had a chance to talk more we'd agree (I think) that skin color matters much in our nation, and even more so than ever.

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