Foreclosures in the San Francisco African-American Community

This is an interesting news story about the effect of foreclosures on the black community in San Francisco.  I quote , “News & Notes, February 15, 2007 · A few years ago, homes had a short life on the “for sale” market because of eager buyers. Now more homeowners are foreclosure because of high interest rates on home loans. The problem is hitting the black community hard. Reporter Nancy Mullane of member station KALW shows how the problem is impacting black neighborhoods in San Francisco.”

Take a listen: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=7418238

The Meaning of Tenea

Yesterday a woman in front of me in the Starbucks line said that she had a daughter with the same name as mine.  I’ve met several people who know Tenea’s but the only time I’ve met one face to face was in a movie theater restroom.  I can’t remember the movie.  I don’t know what Tenea means, and the mom in Starbucks said that it means “priceless.”  I’ve never heard of that before, but there appears to be a Greek city of Tenea based on a quick Google search. 

Also the pronunciation adds to the confusion.  I pronounce my name Teh-knee-uh.  The accent is on the second syllable.  This doesn’t bode well in the Spanish speaking community, where my name is often confused with tenia (accent over the I), a verb tense which means ”(s)he had.”  Also, having been educated in the sciences, people also enjoyed likening my name to tenia, which is basically the scientific term for ringworm.  I was at a training seminar once and a stranger had the audacity to ask me how it felt to be named after a worm.

 Regardless of the origin, I am pleased to have such an original name, and happy that my momma chose it.  And I receive complements all the time!  Whatever anyone thinks of it, they aren’t likely to forget it.