The Blackest Name in America

[Dr. Cheese]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41704238...ife/?GT1=43001

This is neat!

[Selta]

http://www.geni.com/blog/look-whos-r...he-presidents/

[Horny Toad]

Originally Posted by Dr. Cheese

This is neat!

+1

Cool read.

[macaroni tony]

I saw this

Yeah, pretty neat indeed. Every Washington I've ever known is black, too

[Unrepresented]

I can think of way more stereotypical names than that.

[sloasdaylight]

Originally Posted by Unrepresented

I can think of way more stereotypical names than that.

I was going to say Jenkins, myself when I saw that, but it makes sense. I don't think I've to date met a white Washington.

[macaroni tony]

Quote from the article:

(The name Black was 68 percent white, meaning there were far more white Blacks than black Blacks. The name White, meanwhile, was 19 percent black.)

Ar?

[Kawai-chang]

Well, I guessed it was either "Von Valkenberg", or O'Flannery.

[Bigjohn]

It is neat.
But I don't necessarily agree with this statement:
"They were thinking about how they could be Americans," Goodheart says. "That they would embrace the name of this person who was an imperfect hero shows there was a certain understanding of this country as an imperfect place, an imperfect experiment, and a willingness to embrace that tradition of liberty with all its contradictions."
I think that statement bears the naive stamp of late 20th / early 21st century thinking (or speaking).
I think the freed slaves embraced being Americans because anything else was inconceivable. Going to Africa or any other place was not something the overwhelming number wanted to do.
ALL common people of that time were WAY more hard-headed and practically minded than today.
The problem with how most people understand history today is they don't know much context. The practical question is always to ask "compared to what?".
What was the rest of the world like at that time for a black person or for that matter a white immigrant?
Was there a better place for blacks to live at that time? (post imancipation)
Was there a better place for white immigrants and their descendents to live at that time?

[Bongolation]

I knew a Virgil Washington who was white.

I wouldn't have thought that only 90% of people named Washington were black. I would have figured 99%, at least.

[chi-town_mike]

I know a guy who's first name is Whitey. Seriously, he's a folk guy. Whitey O'Dey. No foolin.

[sandmangeck]

My favorite breakast place is Whitey's in Wilmington, NC. It was Michael Jordan's first place of employment. Washing dishes.

[Absentia]

*checks active directory*

I would've thought first initial D last name Brown would be more common.

Interesting read.

[Jared Lash]

And according to Steven D. Levitt in Freakonomics, the blackest first name is DeShawn.

So if you encounter a DeShawn Washington, he will be the blackest person you'll ever meet.

[baba]

Originally Posted by Jared Lash

And according to Steven D. Levitt in Freakonomics, the blackest first name is DeShawn.

So if you encounter a DeShawn Washington, he will be the blackest person you'll ever meet.

Behold: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2026113/

[Jared Lash]

Originally Posted by baba

Behold: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2026113/

Clearly he got his first break as Skinny Carter in "Step Up" and that's what allowed the casting director of "The Poker House" to see him and decide that only the blackest man in America could really embrace the role of "Black Tony".

[macaroni tony]

I don't know too many Deseans, but the two that I do know are black. I wouldn't have guessed it to be the blackest first name in the US, though

[macaroni tony]

Originally Posted by Jared Lash

And according to Steven D. Levitt in Freakonomics, the blackest first name is DeShawn.

So if you encounter a DeShawn Washington, he will be the blackest person you'll ever meet.

LOL at the 20 whitest boy names!

Of the list, Connor, Tanner, Logan, and Hunter are all names that I call some of my white friends for fun