It came to me while watching “Trumbo"
A working Hollywood screenwriter
Blacklisted by the McCarthy Witch Hunts
Earning a living as a hack writer
Unable to put a name to his work
For fear of incarceration.
It comes to many the same way:
Jews during Nazi Germany,
Refugees seeking homes
In foreign countries,
Names change to accommodate
New norms and in a new country:
We become a blank slate,
Upon which a new history can be written.
Ajit becomes Andy, Zhao Xi becomes Mandy;
When will these people be able
To reclaim their own names
And when will we be comfortable
Pronouncing them?
When will street signs be written
In languages other than English?
When will we be a truly inclusive society?
When can these people have their names back?
Scratch and sniff the stale white male card
To know no names like yours
Will be revealed anytime soon.
© shaun patrick green 2022
