Thousands of Twitter users respond to David Perdue's racism with #MyNameIs

Sen. David Perdue was playing to a crowd of Trump supporters Friday evening when he made a big show of mispronouncing Sen. Kamala Harris' name. “Kamala? Kamala? Kamala-mala-mala? I don’t know. Whatever,” Perdue said of a woman who is not only one of his coworkers in the United States Senate but serves on the Senate Budget Committee with him.

While the Trump crowd ate it up, Perdue’s naked racism reverberated in a way that will be attached to his name for years to come. His opponent, Jon Ossoff, quickly raised $1.8 million after the comment, but more significantly, Perdue moved people to speak out against this specific form of racism, the refusal to treat another person seriously enough even to say their name correctly.

Enough with this racist party. Can you give $3 to each Daily Kos-endorsed Senate candidate for the final push to November 3?

The first person to use the #MyNameIs hashtag in this context appears to have been—based on a Twitter search—lawyer Subodh Chandra late Saturday morning, but it really took off when Gautam Raghavan, a member of the Biden transition team, joined in and was subsequently quote-tweeted by Meena Harris, niece of Kamala. Thousands of people by now have tweeted about their names, in many if not most cases people from immigrant backgrounds who have faced the same sneering racism or casual disdain for their right to be called by their names. 

They included famous actors like Daniel Dae Kim, politicians like Rep. Pramila Jayapal, athletes like Michelle Kwan, authors like Min Jin Lee, and many many people you’ve never heard of whose names deserve your respect nonetheless. Rep. Ayanna Pressley wrote of her name that her mother “told me I’d make history and the world would learn how to say it right.” Taking part, too, was Virginia Del. Danica Roem, describing how her name has been used against her as a transgender woman.

#MyNameIs Meenakshi. I'm named after the Hindu goddess, as well as my great great grandmother. I come from a long line of strong women who taught me to be proud of my heritage and to demand respect—especially from racist white men like @sendavidperdue who are threatened by us. https://t.co/Bonzz5n3Xu

— Meena Harris (@meenaharris) October 17, 2020

#MyNameIs Subodh. Means good knowledge. My parents named me that, valuing education. So I worked hard. Our names—w/ meaning & beauty—matter. @SenateGOP mocks @KamalaHarris's name; we must vote 'em out. #IWillVote for leaders who respect our values & names: https://t.co/fXTS1SR8yQ https://t.co/ES2fFCvDkJ

— Subodh Chandra (@SubodhChandra) October 17, 2020

#MyNameIs Daniel Dae Hyun Kim, or in Korean, 김대현. It means “great and powerful one.” My name is not “Macaca” or “Kung Flu.” And @sendavidperdue, her name is not “Kamala Mala Mala I Don’t Know Whatever.” #Respect. One more reason to vote for @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris.

— Daniel Dae Kim (@danieldaekim) October 18, 2020

#MyNameIs Pramila. It comes from the Sanskrit word “prem” which means love. The name is constantly mispronounced as is my last name. I only mind that when it is done willfully and continuously. Let’s build an inclusive America. Vote #BidenHarris2020. Our vote, our power.

— Pramila Jayapal (@PramilaJayapal) October 18, 2020

#MyNameIs Danica Anthony Roem. When I legally changed my first name in ‘15, I kept my middle to honor my grandfather/our 🇮🇹ancestors. My predecessor tried to Barack Hussein Obama me in ‘17, constantly using my middle name to discredit my identity. But it is a woman’s name. Mine.

— Danica Roem (@pwcdanica) October 17, 2020

#MyNameIs Ayanna Soyini Pressley. My mother, may she rest in power, gave me this name which means beautiful flower in Swahili. She told me I’d make history and the world would learn how to say it right. https://t.co/H9joGm8akh

— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) October 17, 2020

#MyNameIs Michelle Wing Kwan & in Chinese pinyin it's pronounced Guan Ying Shan. It means beautiful, strong and smart. What's not beautiful, strong or smart is mocking ppl for their 'foreign sounding' names. Join me in voting for @JoeBiden @KamalaHarris instead #Iwillvote

— Michelle Kwan (@MichelleWKwan) October 17, 2020

#MyNameIs Min Jin. It means “Going to be a special treasure.” Even my parents understood I’d be a work in progress. I love my name. #vote https://t.co/sizkw68zqv

— Min Jin Lee (@minjinlee11) October 18, 2020

#MyNameIs Kulap Toucta Vilaysack. In Lao, Kulap means rose 🌹 and Toucta means doll or toy 🧸. It has been mangled and made fun of countless times by @sendavidperdue types and folks who try to make me feel bad for their mispronouncing of it. Not my problem. https://t.co/SVK5efgFbH

— Kulap Vilaysack (@Kulap) October 18, 2020

#MyNameIs Eric. My first name in Chinese was “Liang”, which means “bright”. As a child immigrant to the US, I chose my name Eric because it’s the only (boy) name spelled out whole in the word ‘America’. I stand w/ #KamalaHarris.#DavidPerdue is disgusting. #Vote  for @ossoff. https://t.co/5T9RyorHY1

— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) October 18, 2020

#MyNameIs Sheetal. I was told I wouldn’t work if I didn’t change my name. I lost jobs because I wouldn’t change my name. I chose to own who I was & refused to conform. I also wrote a best selling children’s book about it. #alwaysanjali - let’s send it to Congress. 👊🏽🙏🏽 @MMPress_

— Sheetal Sheth (@sheetalsheth) October 17, 2020

#MyNameIs Vaidhyanathan. It means "god of medicine" in Sanskrit. It was my father's given name, but became my family name because America is weird with names. Please do not say "I'm not even going to try that!," laugh, and then try it. Like everyone does. https://t.co/inCAfVtza9

— SIVA VAIDHYANATHAN🗽🤘🏽 (@sivavaid) October 19, 2020

Source: Daily Kos