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Nzingha Masani received her African name at a naming ceremony at Eastern Michigan University in 1974. She participated, though unaware that she would receive her name that evening. She says she was nervous and shy upon being given the names Nzingha (after Queen Nzingha, the warrior) and Masani (meaning "gap between the teeth"). Due to family disapproval, she waited 21 years to legally change her name, and says that she needed to grow into herself and accept who she was before she could make the change. StoryCorps Griot is an initiative to record interviews between everyday African Americans across the United States. In West African tradition, the griot is a storyteller who preserves cultural identity and passes it on from generation to generation. The StoryCorps Griot booth is traveling from coast-to-coast collecting these interviews, which will be archived in the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. To find out where the StoryCorps Griot Initiative will be next, visit the StoryCorps Website. To locate a StoryCorps recording booth, visit News & Notes' new blog, "News & Views".
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Piece Description
Nzingha Masani received her African name at a naming ceremony at Eastern Michigan University in 1974. She participated, though unaware that she would receive her name that evening. She says she was nervous and shy upon being given the names Nzingha (after Queen Nzingha, the warrior) and Masani (meaning "gap between the teeth"). Due to family disapproval, she waited 21 years to legally change her name, and says that she needed to grow into herself and accept who she was before she could make the change. StoryCorps Griot is an initiative to record interviews between everyday African Americans across the United States. In West African tradition, the griot is a storyteller who preserves cultural identity and passes it on from generation to generation. The StoryCorps Griot booth is traveling from coast-to-coast collecting these interviews, which will be archived in the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. To find out where the StoryCorps Griot Initiative will be next, visit the StoryCorps Website. To locate a StoryCorps recording booth, visit News & Notes' new blog, "News & Views".
Broadcast History
NPR News and Notes 8/28/07
Transcript
NM: My name was given to me and the name was Queen Ann Nzinga. She was a warrior, fighter, she fought slavery in Angola. She was a very strong woman, very strong and I'm sitting there -- shy, didn't talk to nobody. And I said, 'Is this going to actually be me?' And this man said, 'This is going to be your name now, and be proud of it.' So I went
on to accept it. I wrote my mother that night, I was so excited. You know, I
wrote to all my family members and I told them all that this is my decision and it's nothing against the name I was given by my father. My best friends, to this day -- I mean my best girlfriend still calls me by my other name and I have to nicely tell her, 'If you talk to me or relate to me you must call me Nzinga or we're just going to end this conversation.' I mean I went on and sent back mail that I got out of my birth name. And I know I hurt my mothe...
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