Alice Walker published "Everyday Use" in 1973, in the early years of the Afrocentrism movement in America. This social movement examined the European cultural dominance over nonwhites and led to a renewed interest in and embrace of traditional African culture as a form of self-determination.

Explanation:

Dee's decision to take the name Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo, she explains to her mother, is because she "couldn't bear it any longer, being named after the people who oppress me." The shedding of European names in favor of African or African-sounding names became popular during the civil rights and black power periods in America that occurred around the time Walker published the story.

Dee/Wangero is actively pursuing her own cultural identity as a modern African American woman, and part of the process for her involves ridding herself of her birth name. Dee/Wangero's mother likes the colorful dress and jewelry she wears, and she offers to go along with her daughter's new name. When she denies Wangero...

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4 years ago