The Day I Became Black Essay

Task 1

The text I found interesting in the magazine was “The day I became black”. The text was about Willem. A half-Dutch kid who was a normal student like everyone else. However, one day a discussion started in the A.P. Economics class, which led to the other classmates finding out that Willem was indeed African American. What I found interesting about this was the classmate’s reactions. Willem felt like his classmates saw him differently, and that his classmates felt betrayed. Willem also felt kind of sad because nobody thought of him for his achievements anymore, however everyone saw him for “that smart black kid”. People didn’t believe him because he could swim, and he didn’t play basketball. For the very first time, Willem felt like he was trapped by stereotypes.

Task 2

The reason for this is that it is a big part of a culture, especially for the American Indians. Names are also important because it can carry a deeper meaning than just the name itself. For example, the name “Ahaun Tone Gope”, which is an Indian name, translates to “Struck across the forehead with a hatchet by the enemy. Sunray, who carries this Indian name, says that Ahaun literally was struck across the forehead with a hatchet by the enemy in a battle with the Sioux. This proves that names can have stories behind them. Stories obviously is a big deal when it comes to heritage and identity, which proves that names are important when it comes to heritage and identity. Furthermore, in the text “Names/Nombres” Julia’s classmates make her say her full name. Julia’s name included her middle names and her mother’s and father’s surnames for 4 generations back. This also proves that names have a lot to do with heritage and