Should Deshawn Change His Name?

The data show that on average, a person with a distinctively black name does have a worse life outcome than a woman named Molly or a man named Jake. The kind of parents who name their son Jake don't tend to live in the neighborhoods or share economic circumstances with those who name their kid Deshawn. But Deshawn is more likely to have been handicapped by a low income, low education, single parent background. His name is an indicator, not a cause of his outcome.