On March 16, 2021, a series of mass shootings occurred in the Atlanta metro area, resulting in the tragic murders of eight people, including six Asian women: Soon Chung Park, Hyun Jung Grant, Suncha Kim, Yong Ae Yue, Xiaojie Tan, and Daoyou Feng, as well as Delaina Ashley Yaun and Paul Andre Michels, and serious injury of Elcias R. Hernandez-Ortiz. This tragedy follows a surge of anti-Asian hate and violence since the coronavirus first entered the U.S. in 2019, with the majority of reports coming from women.

While there is nothing that can undo the injustice of their murders, we can pay respect to the lives of these individuals by learning the correct pronunciations of their Chinese- and Korean-language names. Respect for a person’s name is respect for their life and identity. The grief from these racist and misogynistic murders is already so complex, and disrespecting them by not learning their names only compounds the violence.

There are many steps that we can and should all be taking to challenge and eliminate hate, racism, and misogyny. Showing respect for an individual’s name is a small step that we can take toward respect, inclusion and anti-racism. This respect should not be exclusive to those whose lives have been lost, but rather we must challenge ourselves to see others’ identities fully every day. As culturally competent ethical leaders we want to express value and humanity and should never do anything that makes someone feel ashamed or embarrassed, or that leads them to distance themselves from their heritage and cultural backgrounds. If we don’t put in the necessary effort to pronounce names correctly, that might be exactly what we are doing.

Learn more about respect and anti-racism related to the pronunciation of names:

• Asian American Journalists Association video pronunciation guide for the Asian victims of the Atlanta shootings
• Oregon Live article: Asian American community leaders urge people to ‘learn our names’ to combat anti-Asian racism
• KUOW’s RadioActive radio news story: The racist practice of mispronouncing names
• Education Week video: Getting Students’ Names Right: Why it Matters

Why did Dr. Seuss stop publishing six children’s book titles?

Theodor Seuss Geisel was an author who published children’s books from the 1920’s – 1980’s. He wrote many inspiring books such as “Oh the places you’ll go” often given as graduation gifts. However, some of Dr. Seuss’s books were riddled with racist imagery. Concerns for these books have been raised for years. Yesterday was Read Across America Day, a day inspiring children to read and famous authors are recognized. After years of pointing out the flaws in his children’s literature, the Dr. Seuss Enterprise acknowledged several titles which “portray people in ways that are hurtful and wrong.” Therefore, the following titles will no longer be printed or published including: “And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street,” “If I Ran the Zoo,” “McElligot’s Pool,” “On Beyond Zebra!,” “Scrambled Eggs Super!,” and “The Cat’s Quizzer.” However, some argue this is more cancel culture, essentially erasing that these books were once published. The American Library Association opposes literary censorship.  The counter point is that instead of erasing these books as if they never existed, instead move literature like this and others to a different part of the library where conversations can occur about this part of history. Allowing for conversations to occur around social justice without erasing the fact that these impressionable children’s books existed for decades. What will come of these Dr. Seuss titles? Will they never be seen again or will they be moved to the history section of the library?  Consider looking at literature with a different lens.