Amandla Stenberg, the star of “The Hate You Give,” took some time to address the criticism she has been receiving from South Africans on social media lately.
The celebrity was criticised for mispronouncing her Xhosa name.
She stated in the TikTok video: “Okay, so I am coming on here because I have noticed a lot of people discussing my name and how I pronounce it, and I want to engage in the discussion because I have been thinking about these things a lot too.
Stenberg demonstrated that she could pronounce her name in the “proper” manner, but she also explained why she sometimes choose to do so.
Many Westerners and Europeans claim that your parents took Amanda and accidentally slid a “l” into the space. It is “Amandla” as in “Amandla Awethu,” which in Zulu and Xhosa means “power to the people,” and I grew up knowing that this had a great historical significance. that it served as a rallying cry for the South African anti-apartheid campaign.
She said that when her mother named her, she intended for her to strive to exemplify the idea.
But since she thought it would be simpler for Stenberg and she didn’t want her to struggle in school, her mother gave her a Westernized name.
She reasoned that I would struggle less and more people would be able to speak it. She was thus attempting to assist my assimilation in a rather diasporic manner.
“I don’t know; I think this raises a lot of intriguing concerns about diaspora and what we represent, claim, and how we pronounce things,” the speaker said.
She clarified that how she pronounced her name and to whom depended equally on her.
So, yo, South Africans, if you are willing then let’s have a discussion please, I welcome it and I am glad for it. I’m still trying to figure out how to introduce myself, you know. I’m grateful.
TikTokers acknowledged her justification and continued by elaborating on the significance of her name.
Miranda is more than simply a name. For all black South Africans, Amandla has a deeper significance and a deeper history. It’s crucial to say it correctly, said @Anime girl.
You cannot take a name that has such historical value to South Africans and try to dilute it down to make people feel comfortable, according to Angela Masilela.
What are you looking for? “Honor your name by expressing it right,” the author stated. It implies power, and if you merely dilute it for other people’s comfort, there is no power.