“Uncle Tom!” He scolded his opponent, Eric Terell, who refused to address him by his real name days before they’d face each other in the ring.
And he was willing to fight to defend his new identity! But was it THAT serious?
Yes! The man formerly known as Cassius Clay was serious about shedding his “slave” name. His spiritual teacher renamed him Muhammad Ali as part of his Islamic religious beliefs.
But there were even more layers to this change.
Ali was eager to shed the enslavement roots of his former name. ‘‘Clay” was a name given to his family by enslavers, a practice typical during the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
Black people were frequently stripped of our names as a part of the dehumanization process weaponized against enslaved Africans.
When Ali said he was reclaiming his “original name,” his Black name, he was stepping into the power of self-determination and ability for African descendants across the diaspora to identify ourselves as we choose.
This was a powerful move! And it shocked and terrified whites.
Ali’s love for his people continued to shine throughout his career. Whites were big mad, often condemning him as “un-American.” But he never watered down his Blackness for them!
His fight for liberation showed us that part of being free is determining who we want to be – for ourselves, by ourselves!