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“Cassius Clay Clouds” – “For the People”

• In “Cassius Clay Clouds,” it is 1968 and 11-year-old Delphine, along with her younger sisters Vonetta and Fern, are headed to Oakland, California, from Brooklyn, New York, to see their mother Cecile for the first time in years.

• The flight is bumpy, as if the clouds are Cassius Clay throwing punches.

• Delphine reflects on how her father, Pa, calls Cassius Clay “Mohammad Ali,” while Pa’s mother, Big Ma, still calls him “Cassius Clay.”

• Cecile had left Pa and her three girls when Delphine was almost five, Vonetta couldn’t walk, and Fern was a newborn.

• Big Ma, a native of Alabama, moved up to be with her family when Cecile left.

• Out of habit, Delphine looks around to see who else at JFK Airport is black – but there are mostly white people around.

• Pa gives Delphine $200 for the trip, which Delphine keeps...

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