The Decolonization of His Identity.
For the first 58 years of his life, he published and was known globally as Ezekiel Mphahlele. However, upon his historic return to South Africa from exile in 1977, he consciously chose to shed his biblically derived Hebrew name. He decolonized his identity by legally changing his name to Es'kia, a Sotho name that he felt truly embraced and reflected his African heritage consciousness.
"I wonder why so many people believe that they can say and do things that hurt millions of other people and then simply make amends with a song that will say soothing words." - Es'kia Mphahlele, 1987