My Zoom name tag is \u201cDon Ng \u5433\u932b\u6c11.\u201dUnder my rectangular picture is both my English and Chinese names. When I was born, my parents gave me my Chinese name. I was first called by my Chinese name. Beginning on the left is \u201cNg,\u201d my family name. The middle character is \u201cThlick,\u201d my generational name; all my cousins had that same character. And the last character is \u201cMin,\u201d my very own name. Like Adam, God gives us the task to bestow names on people. (Genesis 2:19)<\/p>\n
Not before long, Mrs. Mildred Davis, officially known as the \u201cChurch Visitor\u201d at First Baptist Church, Boston gave my brothers and me English names. I heard that \u201cDonald\u201d was the name of one of Mrs. Davis\u2019 brothers. To be Americans, we needed American names; names that people can pronounce. In the early 20th century, the Americanization Movement was aimed at turning foreigners into Americans.<\/p>\n
In the English language, most words require a vowel to be pronounced. But when my father went through immigration, he registered as \u201cNg\u201d because in my Toisanese dialect, \u201cNg\u201d was closest to the Chinese sound of my family name. But when I was growing up, \u201cNg\u201d was a ubiquitous handicap. I had to always pronounce my name for people. After a while, I wished I was a Lee or a Wong or a Chen.<\/p>\n
In junior high, there were these small white seating cards that we students filled out at the beginning of the school year. These were collected and the teacher would put these little cards into a card holder in the same order where we were sitting. The card holder was like how we used to save dimes for the March of Dimes or quarters to eventually convert to a US Savings Bond. We were asked to write our last name in capitals followed by a comma and only our first initial. I wrote \u201cNG, D.\u201d When the teacher came to my card, he said, \u201cIs this a no-good desk?\u201d I was mortified.<\/p>\n
When the ma\u00eetre d\u2019 asked for my name waiting for a table, I used to say, \u201cWashington.\u201d To the surprise of my friends, I said, \u201cWho can get George wrong? Anyway, \u201cNg\u201d is in Washington!\u201d<\/p>\n
To belong, to blend in, to assimilate, to be invisible, I didn\u2019t want to be foreign. Unbeknownst to me, my Chinese name was being erased. It was hard enough to be a \u201cNg\u201d without having to use \u201cThlick-Min\u201d too.<\/p>\n
Black Americans are killed by police who pledged to protect. Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are victimized as scapegoats for the coronavirus. Hispanic Americans die from the virus because they are front-line workers. When we protest, rally and speak up, we say, \u201cSay His\/Her Name!\u201d We say, \u201cDaunte Wright, George Floyd, Adam Toledo, Breonna Tayler, Victa Ratanapakdee\u201d and so many more names that we have lost count.<\/p>\n
Names are like windows to the world. They are given by our parents\/guardians as a prayerful hope of who we would become. My name \u201cThlick-Min\u201d means \u201cleader of the people.\u201d Those who have died before their time didn\u2019t have a lifetime to become who they would have become.<\/p>\n
Today, I am reclaiming my full name, both my Chinese name and my English name because they represent who I am and nobody will erase my name from me anymore! I am Asian \u5433\u932b\u6c11<\/strong> and American Donald <\/strong>and I am a proud member of the Ng <\/strong>family!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My Zoom name tag is \u201cDon Ng \u5433\u932b\u6c11.\u201dUnder my rectangular picture is both my English and Chinese names. When I was born, my parents gave me my Chinese name. I