When describing the recent uptick in anti-Asian sentiment and hate crimes, we must remind ourselves of the broad and diverse group that encompasses Asian. We, South Asians, too, are Asian. The Sikh employees at FedEx who were the victims of a recent shooting, too, are Asian.
Author: Saili S. Kulkarni
Saili S. Kulkarni (Sigh-lee S. Cool-cur-knee; she/her/hers) is an assistant professor of special education at San José State University who studies race and disability. She is a public voices fellow with the Op-Ed Project.
Getting it Right: Why It’s Important To Pronounce Kamala Harris’s and My Name Correctly
The name “Kamala” tops this year’s list of most mispronounced words—yet, as a society, we still haven’t fully recognized name mispronunciation as a form of microaggression. Kamala Harris’s story provides us with an opportunity to “get it right.”
“There is erasure when names are mispronounced—like the severing of a long rope that links us to our past. Beyond that, there is also anger, confusion and pain.”