The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is a young adult dystopian novel that tells the story of the sixteen year old girl, Katniss Everdeen. This girl lives in a country called Panem, formerly called North America, which is divided into 12 districts and a capitol. In the districts, the people are poor, struggle to access food, and are forced to participate in an annual game where two tributes from ages twelve to eighteen must fight to death with only one remaining victor for the entertainment of the capitol. In the book, Katniss expresses her frustrations at the abuse of the president’s power and how the citizens of the capitol do not look at the young tributes as real people but instead look down upon these individuals who they consider to be worthless pawns only useable for leisurely enjoyment.
This book brings into focus the problems that arise in a society when there are alterns and subalterns. One prominent problem in the story is that the needs of the poverty stricken people in the districts are not being taken care of. They are expected to continually work and produce goods for the benefit of the capitol while basic necessities such as food, water, and adequate shelter are not made available for them at home. Neglecting the needs of the less fortunate is still a prevalent issue in many places including the United States. Lower class citizens, or the subalterns, are expected to work for low wages which in turn helps boost the status of those already in higher classes, or the alterns. This is all occurring while basic tools like educational or economic/financial resources are rarely or never accessible to these people in need.
By the end of the story, Katniss and many other district citizens have retaliated against the unjust system and created a world to benefit all people equally. In the same way, labor movements and educational reforms have proven to be effective as more rights have been granted to people attempting to advance in the workforce and schooling institutions. Collins’ goal of addressing these systemic inequalities makes the reader thoroughly analyze the abuses of political power and also inspires a conversation to look into the interactions between different areas of classes, whether it be social, financial, or academic, and how it affects the way one can live his or her life.
Hello, hello everyone. This is Faith, your host for the “Yo, is This Racist” podcast. I hope you all are doing well today. So today I will be talking about an issue that is not very commonly talked about but is definitely something that needs to be addressed more often since it tends to be a subconscious bias towards various individuals in society. That discrimination is based on someone’s name, or name discrimination. So before we hop into our topic, let’s get an idea of what name discrimination is. Basically, whenever a person has a name that sounds like it’s ethnic or has a racial affiliation and it’s difficult to pronounce, people may presume things about that individual. These assumptions can be positive, but oftentimes they are negative, especially when the name is non-westernized. Now, this is a problem in various aspects of life, but it becomes a particular issue in educational institutions or in the workplace when people are trying to find jobs and get promotions. In general, name discrimination prevents advancements in many aspects of life, whether that be professional, academically, financially, etc.
Before we go on, I want to play a little game. It’s called the name association game and it usually has a light-hearted feel, but ours won’t so much unfortunately. What I’m going to do is say some names and I want you to write down or just keep in your mind the original things that come to mind in the first five seconds that I say the name. This is just to get an idea of the impressions or connotations that you associate with these names. Let’s begin. The first name is going to be Jamal. The next name is Muhammad. And the third name and last name that we’re going to do is Jesus. Now, I’ll let you determine if the words that you associated with those names were negative or positive, but the real problem comes in when we associate the names with negative stigmas. So let’s say for Jamal, if someone were to hear that name and automatically think of a dishonest person, that becomes a problem because if you think of Jamal as a dishonest person, you’re not going to want to hire him. And so although Jamal may not be a dishonest person, he could be great, it does not matter. With name discrimination, stereotypes are created which always clouds fair judgement. And these stereotypes are harmful, they are negative, and ultimately are inaccurate. Even though they are inaccurate, when people that practice name discrimination and believe in these stereotypes are in power, such as employers in corporations or admittance counselers in schools and universities, it does not allow people with these non-western names to advance even if they have the qualifications to do so.
Now, name discrimination is not a new concept. In fact, it’s been around for quite a while. We’re just learning more about it because there have been various studies that are providing more evidence and providing personal experiences. One study that was conducted by the National Bureau of Economic Research showed this name discrimination trend and how it’s a real problem in workforce. This study showed that the applicants with white names only needed to submit an average of ten resumes to get a call back compared to applicants with African American names who needed to submit an average of fifteen resumes to get a call back. Now this study was only a small percentage of those that make up the workforce so there are definitely many more people experiencing this. Another study conducted in the year 2000 focused on Jewish individuals. Just to sum up the study, they basically wanted to change their names so that they could blend in better with society and not stick out so that they would be less likely to experience various forms of discrimination. The study also showed that after the September 11th attacks, many Arab Americans wanted to change their names so they didn’t appear as Muslim or Arabic and to seem more loyal to America. They believed that having an Arabic or Muslim name could possibly harm there futures in this country.
Now I personally have never had an experience with name discrimination. My name is super basic, very westernized and easy to pronounce. My name also does not really say anything about my race, so I personally cannot relate to this problem. However, a friend of mine who actually happens to be the inspiration for this podcast has had many problems with name discrimination. This friend has a very complicated name which is not westernized at all. When I first met her, she had to teach me how to say her name because it was that difficult for me to pronounce. Aside from this, she’s a super intelligent, hardworking, smart, and overall a great person. One day, she was explaining to me that she had applied for a job that she was very sure that she was qualified for. However, she had surprisingly received an email saying that they were not going to go forward with an interview because she was underqualified. They ended the letter by saying to not apply until she had met their standards. Overall, not the kindest letter, especially considering that she did meet the qualifications that they had listed on the application. After she was done explaining her frustrations, she ended by saying that “Oh well, they probably saw my name on the resume.” Up until that point, I had never heard of name discrimination or even the concept. In addition to this experience, she had told me of other situations that she had faced as an immigrant with her name and accent, such as people assuming that she could not speak English or that she did not receive a proper education in her home country. Honestly, just very degrading and insulting stereotypes that were based in the ignorant practice of name discrimination.
So another problem with name discrimination is that many people do not think that it truly is a form of discrimination because a person is not blatantly saying racial slurs, negatively commenting on a person’s skin color or hair texture, or whatever other forms of racial insensitivity. Because the hate is not overt, it does not seem like it is an injustice that needs to be eradicated in our society. Furthermore, although name discrimination may sometimes be a subconscious bias, it is still a problematic offense and unfair treatment that ultimately stunts the growth and advancement of minorities with these names. Going forward, what can we do about this? How can we fix it? Because there is no purpose in addressing a problem if nothing is going to be changed.
I think that the first major step is recognizing name discrimination as an issue. After this, we have to accept that we have internal biases because whether we want to accept it or not, everyone has preconceived notions about a person or a group of people.
The next step is learning how to overcome these internal biases. Basically, this means how are we going to learn to unlearn these harmful narratives, especially in a society that is so determined on being prejudiced against so many diverse groups of people. Lastly, and I believe the most important step is realizing that this is a collective effort. It’s kind of like a no man left behind sort of movement. While we have to hold ourselves accountable for our own biases, it’s also important to hold others accountable for their biases and whatever prejudices that they may display towards others. These biases are not limited to only name discrimination, but also include general racism, sexism, xenophobia, and so many other forms of discrimination. And I know that we live in a society where it’s sort of like “What other people do is none of my business.” There’s some truth to that of course, but at the same time, discrimination will never be eradicated if we do not hold others responsible for these kinds of mistreatments that they direct towards others. It may be uncomfortable at first, but this means everyone, including family, friends, and coworkers. There may be some awkward conversations at first, but it will be well worth it.
So just to recap really quick, to overcome the problem of name discrimination, we have to accept name discrimination as a problem and recognize our own internal biases, we must learn how to unlearn these internal biases, and hold others that display the prejudices accountable, no matter who they may be.I hope you learned a lot today about this issue and I especially hope that you choose to go forward in your daily lives making a conscious effort to treat all people equally regardless of their differences. Goodbye for now!
American society has gradually improved the way that it treats minorities since the founding of this nation. The ability to attain life, liberty, and happiness has been extended to more individuals making way to create healthy and progressive environments. Despite these advancements, there are still systemic injustices that plague many academic and professional institutions. Although it may be subliminal, name discrimination is a serious problem that has stunted the educational and career growth of many people of color. This phenomenon occurs with people who possess names that are considered ethnic or “non-Western”. These people often find that they have difficulty landing jobs or gaining acceptance into prestigious programs that they would otherwise be qualified for. A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research showed that “Job applicants with white names needed to send about 10 resumes to get one callback…those with African-American names needed to send around 15 resumes to get one callback” (Francis 1). This includes only a small percentage of the people experiencing this injustice.
Victims of this practice often take drastic measures to avoid this problem, such as changing their names to something deemed more socially acceptable. A 2002 study showed that a group of Jewish individuals “sought to erase their ethnic names and replace them with more generic “American-sounding” ones” (Daley 2). Similarly, after the September 11 New York attacks, many Arab Americans opted to “change [their] name to a less demonstratively Muslim/Arabic first name” (Daley 4). The urge to change one’s name is simply due to the negative and inaccurate connotations associated with foreign names. Furthermore, the practice of disregarding someone’s qualifications based on their names enforces harmful stereotypes. These include labeling minorities as unintelligent, an inability to speak coherently, and possessing barbaric and uncultured mannerisms. As Marji expresses in Persepolis, she experiences many injustices in Austria due to the combination of her name and heritage, such as when the nun refers to Iranians as uneducated. While she eventually grows to appreciate her background, she experiences brutal discrimation in the process.
Like Marji and many other minorities, no one should have to change anything about their identity, including his or her name, to be seen as acceptable in society. Going forward, these biases must be addressed so that all people can truly have equal access to the same educational and professional tools which can allow genuine societal progression.
“Employers’ Replies to Racial Names.” NBER, https://www.nber.org/digest/sep03/employers-replies-racial-names.
Kirsten Fermaglich Associate Professor. “Why Are Some Americans Changing Their Names?” The Conversation, 1 May 2021, https://theconversation.com/why-are-some-americans-changing-their-names-102146.
John Lewis was a freedom rider and an avid leader in the Civil Rights movement. During his years as an activist, he led the “Bloody Sunday” protest and spoke at the March on Washington in 1963 alongside other influential people like Martin Luther King Jr. Leading up to his congressional election in 1986, he would play a key role in fighting for the rights of minorities in the United States (“John Lewis” 1). March details Lewis’ early life experiences that encouraged him to dismantle the racial barriers in an attempt to ensure others the right to life, liberty, and happiness in an unjust society.
Born in Troy, Alabama, Lewis had many encounters with racism. Numerous occurrences led up to this sort of environment, such as slavery, which lasted in America from the 1600s until the ratification of the 13th Amendment in 1865, and Jim Crow laws that allowed lynchings and limited access to educational resources. Because literacy tests were required to vote, many African Americans were prohibited from exercising this right because they had no opportunities to learn to read or write. In addition to these tests, poll taxes and the “Grandfather Clause” also kept Black people from voting. Ku Klux Klan members, a group promoting white supremacy, further terrorized African Americans (“Race and Voting” 3-4).Lewis details how he was affected by these laws as he was not allowed to attend a white college despite meeting the required academic criteria for admittance.
The Civil Rights era was a turning point for many Black people in America. New laws were introduced that gave Black Americans more rights, such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Although there is still progress to be made, the contributions of Lewis and many others allow people in today’s world to enjoy freedoms in an integrated society that was fought for in March.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is a young adult dystopian novel that tells the story of the sixteen year old girl, Katniss Everdeen. This girl lives in a country called Panem, formerly called North America, which is divided into 12 districts and a capitol. In the districts, the people are poor, struggle to access food, and are forced to participate in an annual game where two tributes from ages twelve to eighteen must fight to death with only one remaining victor for the entertainment of the capitol. In the book, Katniss expresses her frustrations at the abuse of the president’s power and how the citizens of the capitol do not look at the young tributes as real people but instead look down upon these individuals who they consider to be worthless pawns only useable for leisurely enjoyment. 
American society has gradually improved the way that it treats minorities since the founding of this nation. The ability to attain life, liberty, and happiness has been extended to more individuals making way to create healthy and progressive environments. Despite these advancements, there are still systemic injustices that plague many academic and professional institutions. Although it may be subliminal, name discrimination is a serious problem that has stunted the educational and career growth of many people of color. This phenomenon occurs with people who possess names that are considered ethnic or “non-Western”. These people often find that they have difficulty landing jobs or gaining acceptance into prestigious programs that they would otherwise be qualified for. A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research showed that “Job applicants with white names needed to send about 10 resumes to get one callback…those with African-American names needed to send around 15 resumes to get one callback” (Francis 1). This includes only a small percentage of the people experiencing this injustice. 
John Lew