Ending Ethnic Name-Shaming
Written by: Matt Kappadakunnel | Photo by: Associated Press
On Friday October 16, Georgia Republican Senator David Perdue mockingly mispronounced Democratic Vice Presidential Candidate Senator Kamala Harris’ first name at a rally for President Donald Trump in Perdue’s home state.
Americans cannot look the other way from this type of mocking regardless of one’s political party preference, especially given the xenophobic implications of such mockery. Members of our Malayalee community in America must also not default to being passive bystanders amid these racist onslaughts.
Similar to Senator Harris, I am of Indian-American origin and I have been taunted my whole life for my long ethnic last name, even among so-called Christians that Senator Perdue identifies with.
I can tell you that such treatment over my whole life resulted in much inner negativity and low self-esteem, wishing I was not born in my own skin and in my own race.
But God loves my skin, God loves my race, and God loves my name. Otherwise, God would not have loved me into existence in these conditions.
I cannot speak for Senator Harris, but I would imagine that she too has experienced such ill treatment for much of her life for having an ethnic name. I am grateful that she is such a strong and courageous person, but it does not mean that such treatment was without pain.
Senator Perdue inflicted pain not only to Senator Harris, but sent a painful reminder to every person who has ever experienced this type of injustice.
Photo by News18
Following this racist incident, several prominent Persons of Color created a trend on Twitter with the hash tag #MyNameis highlighting the beauty and importance of their ethnic names:
Former US Attorney Preet Bharara: “#MyNameis Preet, which means love.”
California US House Representative Ted Lieu: “#MyNameis Ted W. Lieu. The “W” is short for “Win-Ping” which in Mandarin means Cloud of Peace.”
Minnesota US House Representative Ilhan Omar: “#MyNameIs Ilham, I prefer Ilhan. I never liked the M sound. It means “Inspiration” in Arabic. My father named me Ilham and inspired me to lead a life of service to others.”
California US House Representative Ro Khanna: “#MyNameIs Rohit, and my friends call me Ro. It means bright light in Sanskrit. This election, #IWillVote for an inclusive America by voting for @joebiden & @kamalaharris.”
#MyNameIs Mathew Kappadakunnel. My first name is my paternal grandfather’s name. In Kerala, “Mathew” is spelled with one “t” and is the namesake of St. Matthew. “Kappadakunnel” means “house on top of a tapioca hill” in Malayalam. This is a name that denotes family pride, not a name for derision. Many American-born Malayalees no longer have their family name as their last name, but either their father’s first name or an abbreviated form of their family name as their surname. I am grateful that my parents gave me this name and that I get to share this name with my children.
We all have room for error, however rather than admit he was wrong, Senator Perdue’s campaign defended his remarks. “Senator Perdue simply mispronounced Senator Harris' name, and he didn't mean anything by it." The statement from Perdue’s campaign reflects white privilege in believing such an empty response is sufficient.
As many of us who have had our ethnic names ridiculed know, such treatment suggests that we do not belong here. Even President Donald Trump propagated a position that Senator Harris is not a valid US citizen. Ridiculing Senator Harris’ first name and denying she is a valid US citizen suggests that she does not belong in the white supremacist’s world.
Rather than appeal to Christian principles to stir up a political rally supported by many on the religious right, Senator Perdue appealed to cheap racist jeers to gain crowd approval.
This reveals that Senator Perdue’s political party is not about Christian values but white supremacy and racism.
I am calling for the end of ethnic name-shaming, however this is merely symptomatic of the white supremacist and nationalist undercurrent in the United States. We as Malayalees can work both within and outside our communities to ensure racist leaders do not get elected and racist policies become overturned. Our nation must become what our parents dreamed of for themselves and for us and made sacrifices for this end: a land of freedom, equal opportunity and acceptance.
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Matt Kappadakunnel lives in Los Angeles with his wife and toddler son. Matt’s parents are from outside Kottayam, and he was born in Louisiana. Matt has written extensively on racial justice and Black Lives Matter, including in the Journal of Religion and Society and Novena News.
Twitter: @matt_k007
Instagram: @mattk007
1https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/16/politics/david-perdue-kamala-harris/index.html
2 https://twitter.com/PreetBharara/status/1317607218204839937
3 https://twitter.com/tedlieu/status/1317614327478644737
4 https://twitter.com/search?q=ilhan&src=typeahead_click
5 https://twitter.com/RoKhanna/status/1317570533815427072
6 https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/16/politics/david-perdue-kamala-harris/index.html
