My Name Is Sangoel by Karen Lynn Williams

Karen Lynn Williams (right) was born in Connecticut, and received her Master’s degree in deaf education. Sangoel is still Sangoel, even in America. His classmates go wild for his idea, drawing their own graphic interpretations of their names and everyone can finally pronounce Sangoel’s name. He has made a shirt that says “My name is” with a sun and a soccer goal drawn below, to help everyone with the pronunciation with his name. Later that morning at school, Sangoel reveals his hard work. He goes to bed, but has an idea upon waking. At dinner, he is sad that he “has lost his name in America” and his mother offers a new American name as a solution but Sangoel knows he will always be Sangoel. Each time this happens Sangoel softly corrects them, unsure of what else to do. The next day his doctor mispronounces his name, and the teacher does the same thing the day after. Johnson teaches them how to use a stove, use a phone, and eat with forks. In this new country, and mispronunciation of Sangoel’s name begins to happen immediately. Off the plane, this new country is loud and fast-paced. He leaves his friends that also fled war in Sudan, and boards a “sky boat” for America.

They are leaving for America, and one of the camp elders reminds Sangoel that he always carries his Dinka name even in America. Summary: Sangoel is a young Dinka boy that lives in a refugee camp with his mother and sister. Topics Covered: Global Community, Family, POC-Centric Narratives, Self-Expression, Courage, Immigration, Refugees. Written by: Karen Lynn Williams and Khadra Mohammed

My Name Is Sangoel by Karen Lynn Williams