Why are you saying it in place of
Rachel?
Neither Carmichael nor Havana seem like names distinctly from African American or black communities (the only Carmichael I know is white Scott’s-Irish). I don’t really care for either name though. They don’t strike me as terrible, but I can see how some people could have strong views. Carmichael sounds like a last name, and Havana is a little yuppyish. I wouldn’t assume that someone is racist simply because they don’t like these names; it seems a like a big leap to assume so much about people’s unspoken reasons in what could simply be a matter of preferences.
If a name is strongly associated with a particular community or people group it isn’t all that surprising that people may feel compelled to mention it. Cultural appropriation is a fairly sensitive issue, and a lot of people like to raise awareness.
This message was edited 7/18/2018, 5:01 PM