A Roshanda By Any Other Name Analysis
“A Roshanda by Any Other Name” A Distinct Black Name Equates a Worse Life
Roland G. Fryer is a well known, black professor economist at Harvard University and faculty director of the Education Innovation Laboratory. Fryer is well-known for his straight-forward writings on race and devotion to the question concerning, “Why blacks perform low scores on the SAT’s and earn less money than whites.” (Levitt, J, S. D., & Dubber, S. J., 2005, pg.166) In addition, Fryer’s fascination with the occurring segregation in the black and white cultural has led him to many successful studies, including the gap, differences of black parents and white parents in choosing baby names. According to his analysis of the California names data, a person with
a distinctively black name, on average, has a worse life outcome than a person with a distinctively white name.
The data revealed that distinctive black girl babies were named by unmarried, low-income undereducated black teenage mothers. The black teenage mothers were also named black distinct names. Black communities had an understanding to not go to the white side of the railroad tracks, or if a black kid studied calculus or ballet, they would be, “Acting white.” The distinctive girl and boy black name findings became more common by the1980s, in which, according to Fryer is most likely due to the Black Power movement. The Black Power movement began when the Afro-American brought forward the African culture in celebrating their differences and fighting black inferiority.
According to “audit studies” white names are more often chosen for job interviews on resumes. However, these studies do not tell the reason why the white names were chosen. Suppose the black child changed his name to a white name, perhaps he would be selected for an interview, however that does not mean that he would get the job. The reality is that a distinctively black names do on average have a worse life outcome, which does not have anything to do with the name. The name is an indicated of a black child who grew up in a low-income, low-educated, single-parent background.
Roland G. Fryer is a well known, black professor economist at Harvard University and faculty director of the Education Innovation Laboratory. Fryer is well-known for his straight-forward writings on race and devotion to the question concerning, “Why blacks perform low scores on the SAT’s and earn less money than whites.” (Levitt, J, S. D., & Dubber, S. J., 2005, pg.166) In addition, Fryer’s fascination with the occurring segregation in the black and white cultural has led him to many successful studies, including the gap, differences of black parents and white parents in choosing baby names. According to his analysis of the California names data, a person with
a distinctively black name, on average, has a worse life outcome than a person with a distinctively white name.
The data revealed that distinctive black girl babies were named by unmarried, low-income undereducated black teenage mothers. The black teenage mothers were also named black distinct names. Black communities had an understanding to not go to the white side of the railroad tracks, or if a black kid studied calculus or ballet, they would be, “Acting white.” The distinctive girl and boy black name findings became more common by the1980s, in which, according to Fryer is most likely due to the Black Power movement. The Black Power movement began when the Afro-American brought forward the African culture in celebrating their differences and fighting black inferiority.
According to “audit studies” white names are more often chosen for job interviews on resumes. However, these studies do not tell the reason why the white names were chosen. Suppose the black child changed his name to a white name, perhaps he would be selected for an interview, however that does not mean that he would get the job. The reality is that a distinctively black names do on average have a worse life outcome, which does not have anything to do with the name. The name is an indicated of a black child who grew up in a low-income, low-educated, single-parent background.