It's Just a Name

Lately I have been wondering if there are some people who would not vote for Barack Obama simply because he has a Muslim middle name. Obama does not use his middle name in his public life, but there are several media people who have highlighted his middle name to excite anti-Muslim prejudices, or to make him look like a foreignor we should not trust. http://mediamatters.org/items/200612200005 Obama is neither Muslim nor of Arab descent. Ann Coulter thinks it is funny to say "B. Hussein Obama."

I can personally relate to the name-discrimination issue, and I believe it really exists today, more than people want to admit. Check out "What's in a Name?" http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0DXK/is_9_20/ai_104521293

Even though I am of Italian descent, I had a Muslim last name until I got married at age 34. My father says our name was never changed or shortened when his parents came to America from Palermo, Sicily. It's always been Muslim. The reason we are Italians with a Muslim name is because the Moors conquered Sicily during midieval times. The Moors were from North Africa and Morocco. Then the Normans (Vikings) came along to conquer Sicily but the Arab influence remained for a long time. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moors My father had wanted to change our name to a more Anglo sounding name, but he never did. We were still allowed to join the local Country Club, so I guess that made it okay for him. I can remember my father always making up an Anglo name when calling for dinner reservations.

When I started looking for a teaching job in the 90's I wondered if the reason why I was not getting too many interviews was because of my last name. My classmates were getting lots of interviews and even job offers at districts like Parkland, East Penn, and Bethlehem. I thought my resume was pretty impressive because I had two college degrees plus some graduate classes under my belt, plus job experience. Yet I could not even get an interview in any suburban or rural district. I was able to get interviews in urban districts like Allentown. Was it only because of my last name? I can remember the look of surprise on the interviewer's face (usually a principal or administrator) when they saw a white girl with green eyes walk in. "Oh, are you Miss ---??" It was kinda obvious they were expecting someone different. Maybe they were disappointed. So that made it hard for me to get a job in any district! Damn name! Well a name should not matter so much, but I believe in my case it did. An urban district hired me based on my student teaching experience in the district, and on the recommendation of a teacher. I think they were hoping I was a minority too, since they were actively looking for minority teachers.

I hope Barack Obama becomes president. That might help to remind people that a name is just a name.

The above painting is "The Annunciation" painted by Sicilian artist Antonello da Messina in 1476