In recent years—since the release of The Bakala of North America, The Living Suns of Vitality: In Search for a Meaningful Name for African-Americans (2009)—I have been engaged in many conversations and panels regarding identity and what it means for Africans on the continent, as well as Africans in the Diaspora. One of the many challenges I have faced in such public discourses is trying to move the discussion of identity beyond mere labeling into a discussion about how one’s identity can be a tool of empowerment and nation building.

Many people think that a name is simply a human tool to label and identify things. But a name is more than a label: it is a vibration that resonates with the essence of a thing. A name speaks to the energy of a phenomenon and when invoked, can activate latent energies that can be used to manifest its potential. This is why in Africa, as discussed in Imhotep (2009), personal names were not simply labels: they actually represented (in some instances) goals to be achieved, or a character to be personified. A name, in essence, was a person’s destiny; his north star which directed his life.

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