The Rejection of Slavemaster Surnames

[nourishdesoul]

I agree with rebelAfrika. I am tired of playing their game, however, I also do not want anyone or any instituion referring to me by my Euro-surname. HOw do I do that without going through the "legal" hoops.

[Nefertiti]

Im currently lookin for a name to change to And then im going to legally do it afterwards........I been tellin people on the street my name is nefertiti....

[G.O.D.F.A.T.H.A.]

Lutalo Wamukato Samura is my name. Uhuru!

[ThinkFree]

my last name is HALL what does it mean?

[Queen_T]

I'll be changin' mines soon but I'll keep my gub'ment name because I ain't writin'\payin' them nothin.

[Erzulie Danto]

slave names have got to GO! like perming the hair, the slave name is all BAD for the re-emerging Afrikan self. i say change it legally too. our names became Bessy, Toby, Jemina, Phillis Wheatley etc legally as these yt enslavers kept "records" of us as their purchases, so we need to shift that energy. plus, i want the po po, the judge, the church lady, school president, who ever, to have to SAY my powerful and beautiful Afrikan name. that is powerful incantation everytime. my Ancestors will be on alert and offer guidance, when they hear yt speak my purpose.

and you know, we spend $100 in a flash on "their" clothes, shoes, accessories, tv's, dsl, etc or least we have in the past. so we can spend the dollars towards reclaiming our identity. and if we overstand the importance speaking an Afrikan language, you gonna learn as Jennifer or Jonathan or Ngozi or Kamau? you gonna visit the Motherland as Ms Jackson or as Nana Abeni? clearly, our names communicate a worldview.

as far as families and legacy, we all come from strong families, who in one way or another survived and fought thru slavery and colonialism--we wouldn't be here otherwise. but as Re-Afrikanizing people of the Diaspora/Maafa, we must take that legacy of power and strength and choose/receive our Afrikan name with both pride and humility. this is an fundemental movement towards healing and Home. this is a primary ritual of self-love in my eyes. we must make our families overstand the importance and sacredness of this essential act. it may be difficult but many of our people would have us perm headed and eating pork too! we must learn to say no and believe in our ability to transform the everyday. our families will learn from us or least respect our seriousness. and our children, grounded in the soil of our PanAfrikan commitment and vision, will love us for it. (besides our slave surnames represent only "half" or 1/4 of our genelogy anyway, most of our Nanas in this western culture have been changing their names to suit Western patriarchal fashion, these names do not necessarily reflect our entire lineage anyway.)

shake that load off! Babylon name, be gone!

[TRUandLiving_Earth]

Most family names trace back to the names of our ancestors slave masters and first names are Europeon. Both vibrations I can do without. I haven't changed my name legally but no one calls me my slave name anyways except my family. They don't understand and have no consciousness. When people from my past or family call me my slave name it annoys me, they don't realize that these names reflect two different people. My father was the only one that did understand because he legally changed his name. Regardless of what my government name is listed as, I know who I am and eventually all those in my life will give in and see this is not a phase but an awakening. All my children will have righteous first, middle and last names that reflect our culture and then no one can say to them; no what's your "real name".

[Kweku_Omowale]

Originally Posted by Kentake

Hotep family!,
My slavemaster name(s) are Morgan (my grandmothers' maiden name) Forbes (my grandfathers' name) and Ferguson (my dad), although i was adopted & raised in the Augustin family so then i was given Augustin as my legal last name. i have always been REVOLTED & DISGUSTED by my slavemaster name(s) and i was once shocked to discover that there are Forbes in Europe who share the same "family name" with my mother.... i do not associate myself with the identity of a Morgan, Augustin, Forbes or Ferguson, i do know that these are the names that my ancestors carried for many yrs. thru NO FAULT of their own. however, i would also like to know how and when our slave names were chosen and under what circumstances did whitey decide who was going to receive what name? did whitey just choose Morgan/ Forbes out of a "lucky draw" that he decided to play one day on the plantation or is this the actual name of the whitey that owned my family?? i myself, felt the urgent need to change my slavename due to the fact that i have experienced great shame, anger & disgust knowing that i share the same name as whitey slavemaster descendants in Europe/North America and therefore by keeping my slavename i am generally saying "OH THANK YOU WHITEY FOR ENSLAVING MY ANCESTORS AND DESTROYING MY AFREEKAN INHERITANCE! I WILL CONTINUE YOUR LEGACY OF ENSLAVEMENT BY CARRYING ON YOUR NAME AND PRAISING MY CONTINUAL MENTAL AND SPIRITUAL ENSLAVEMENT!!??" i think not!



I deeply wished to have a meaningful naming ceremony so when i travelled to Ghana i asked the elders that i met there to conduct a naming ceremony approx. 1 wk b4 i left Ghana. i chose the name KENTAKE NEFERTARI MERIMUT, however legally i am still known as Sonji Augustin, however i instruct my friends & family to call me KENTAKE, although many of them do not!! i do hope to change my name legally, but here in Quebec they say that you have to have a GOOD REASON to change your name, if "they" do not agree with the reason then you are not able to have the right to change your name, and "THEY" ARE THE 1S THAT DECIDE WHETHER THIS REASON IS VALID OR NOT, by the way you have to write this long-ass letter of explanation and also pay $100 to submit the application, if they dis-approve of your reason "they" keep the $100 and you get no reimbursement of it. so i want to get a lawyer in advance in the future so i can deal with these muthaf%$#@!* the way "they" need to be dealt with....that is MY STORY of why i reject my slavemaster surname, anyway to me and my ancestors i am KENTAKE NEFERTARI MERIMUT and ALWAYS WILL BE!!!!



note: however, i would like to really know what my REAL AFREEKAN ANCESTRAL NAME is or atleast where my ppl were stolen from as to have a better idea of WHO I REALLY AM....



SANKOFA!,
Sistah Kentake.

* cry face* i too,have slave name,that gives me so much trouble cause it is hiffanated and compound name, my grand mothers maiden name is castro,
her husband name was souza,see souza was the portuguese slave owner that owned my grandfather ands castro owned my grandmother side,
when my mother married my father, his name is mildo bueno, she adopted his name,as regina celia oliveira bueno, my slave name is andre luis oliveira bueno,
thats the name my mother and father gave me,up till this day,euros dont know how to get it together and i had checks and other stuff complications,because of that,it is sad,very sad for me,it is sad my whole family history* cry face* my grand mothers mother,her name was BENEDITA MATHEUS DE CASTRO,she was sexually abused,bya portuguese rich guy,because back in the days,afrikan women in brazil,use to work for dem,to iron their clothes,cook and take care of their kids,pleaze family bear with me,
this is so painful as type gotta get it out my chest
the stoopid mofo,didnt take ownership,when my grandmother was born,her mother had to leave the guys house and look for work somewhere else,my grandmother tried to contact the guys family and they were very hostile towards her i dunno,if i can type any longer... it is so painful for me emotionally... and well spiritually,only the creator knows what i go thru on daily basis with slaves and masters,i am an afrikan among slaves and have found confort in here,oh boy,this is painful family... so iam gonna stop right here...

[Troy 6X]

I have the X in place of my last name to do away with the slavemasters name, until I find a name that fits who I'am. If we are to become a nation, we come out of the enemys name. Until we do that name still shows that you are owned by them. (STILL A SLAVE)

[Jalili]

My name is Johnathan Brown Jr. I wouldn't mind changing it but I am also a Jr other than my blood line I hold my fathers memory within the handed down name so as you see I am kind of at a delema about that part and that part alone. Also I wouldn't want to give the white man my blessed untainted new name with allowing them to butcher it with their grimy tongues. Last but not least I don't know how to go about changing it in a spirtual way.

[Isis]

Well, I have a really common slave surname:H****s. Personally, I would like to change it but I take intoconsideration that my father bore sons who took their mother's surname...I intend to take my future husband's name and compound it with mine....just to keep my father's legacy in motion for another generation or so. My father was/is a VERY honorable Afrikan(Native) man. On the brighter side my birth name is trans-cultural/ethnic...~Fatima~...which is Afrikan*/Arabic-Muslim/Spanish. What a quagmire

Peace

[DarkManJah]

Greetings Warriors! There was an old episode of A Different World in which Whitley became a substitute teacher, and found herself before a middle-school class that had within it, a culturally proud young Afrikanized brother who asked her if she would refer to him, not by his slave name, but his Afrikan name. Of course, Whitely had big, big trouble pronouncing his Afrikan name, and comically insisted that he allow her to call him by his slave (given) name. The young brother stood up and respectively roared,
"What! You don't respect me enough as a Black man to learn my NEW name?" Although i first saw that episode many, many years before i liberated my own mind, it gave me goose bumps then, and still does today. That scene has great power!

i recalled this story to make a point: When i began to study for Afrikan-centered critical enlightenment back in '95, i insisted that those sisters and brothers with whom i came into contact, had to know and learn to say my name. Many stumbled, and others quit until i uttered the young brothers words...
My Afrikan name is Jahi Abiade Kimathi Bandele Lumumba. And after over a year and half of absence, i am excited to be back on assatashakur.org. Peace. But not without Struggle. And no love for the others.

[Mamazen]

Originally Posted by DarkManJah

Greetings Warriors! There was an old episode of A Different World in which Whitley became a substitute teacher, and found herself before a middle-school class that had within it, a culturally proud young Afrikanized brother who asked her if she would refer to him, not by his slave name, but his Afrikan name. Of course, Whitely had big, big trouble pronouncing his Afrikan name, and comically insisted that he allow her to call him by his slave (given) name. The young brother stood up and respectively roared,
"What! You don't respect me enough as a Black man to learn my NEW name?" Although i first saw that episode many, many years before i liberated my own mind, it gave me goose bumps then, and still does today. That scene has great power!

i recalled this story to make a point: When i began to study for Afrikan-centered critical enlightenment back in '95, i insisted that those sisters and brothers with whom i came into contact, had to know and learn to say my name. Many stumbled, and others quit until i uttered the young brothers words...
My Afrikan name is Jahi Abiade Kimathi Bandele Lumumba. And after over a year and half of absence, i am excited to be back on assatashakur.org. Peace. But not without Struggle. And no love for the others.

Welcome back brother!

[Revolutionary_Student]

I want to change my name but I don't know where to start in choosing a name that suits me. Can I get some advice from someone who has knowledge and insight in this area?

[Jalili]

Originally Posted by Revolutionary_Student

I want to change my name but I don't know where to start in choosing a name that suits me. Can I get some advice from someone who has knowledge and insight in this area?

I'm looking for the samething.