On Edge of Sports.

• Author: Berry, Wendell
• Position: Cassius Marcellus Clay - We Hear You - Brief article - Letter to the editor

When I read Dave Zirin's article "How Cassius Clay Became Muhammad Ali" (April issue), I hoped Mr. Zirin would say a word or two respecting the name of Cassius Marcellus Clay. The original bearer of that name in Kentucky was a cousin of Henry Clay, who was later U.S. ambassador to Russia and a militant abolitionist. He published an anti-slavery newspaper, and made anti-slavery speeches. To be an abolitionist in a slave state was far more radical and...