Simon Ateba: What I learned moving from Nigeria to the United States

One of the greatest French books I read in high school was "Germinal," written by Émile Zola in 1885. France had colonized the place where I was born, giving us French books, names, and their culture. They called me Simon, but my family quickly added an African name: Ateba. Like a child choosing their own parents, I chose English as my language. But whe…