Lyn Idahosa

The first time I remember someone making mention of my name being too complicated and I didn’t speak up I was in 6th grade and I allowed teachers and classmates to call me a variation of my first name that was quite the butcher job for nearly a year.

I wish I had the courage to speak out to them then. More recently after the 2016 election I joined the local legislative district. Soon after my appointment a few of my fellow board members would make comments about how complex my name is, going so far as to say I was creating drama and everyone else just wanted to get to work. When I raised the issue of wanting to have the organization invest in DEI training, I was not supported.

Even to this day I frequently hear them disrespectfully mispronounce POC elected officials names, even some of the ones that are active in our organization.

-Lyn Idahosa