Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
I was thinking, “Why are all you bigots assuming that the grandmother can’t speak English, just because she isn’t heard speaking English?” If she’s anything like the real-life immigrants I know, she’s probably self conscious about her accent, which probably was the subject of much derision by the monolingual knuckledraggers who speak English real good.
“Some people are surprised that I speak English and assume that I must be a foreigner,” says Gbenga Akinnagbe, 32, a Brooklyn resident. “When I was younger, my mother wanted me to change it because she worried that I wouldn’t be able to find employment. There was a time I wanted to change my name and I was ashamed of it and I’d have people call me DJ. But I do love it now.”
