Crazy Mother Mountain
- The girls return to the green stucco house around dinner, and Cecile has already picked up more Lo Mein from Ming's.
- Delphine comes straight out and asks why the Panthers call Cecile "INzila."
- Nzila, Cecile corrects her.
- And that's it—that's her entire response, just correction instead of an actual answer.
- Delphine notices how important that "Nz" sound appears to be, but also that it's not a sound she's used to hearing.
- Cecile finally answers: Nzila is a poet's name, and Cecile—ahem, Nzila—writes powerful political poetry.
- In an African language called Yoruba, it means "the path." That's why they call her Nzila.
- Nzila explains the ideology behind changing her name: It's a label for her true self, her identity; it's from their true ancestry and heritage; it's a name for the people and for the cause.
- But Delphine and her sisters don't buy it—or they don't really understand it. Either way, they kind of make fun of it.
- They challenge their mother's poetry by purposefully asking silly questions.
- In response to the questioning, Cecile half-jokingly accuses them of being from the FBI and COINTELPRO.
- And suddenly Cecile is ranting about this COINTELPRO, a secret organization that spies on groups like the Black Panthers. Apparently they interrogate and intimidate anyone—kids included—for information. Gulp.
- She even compares the situation they're in to the totalitarian tactics of Communist China, at least during the Mao years. The girls aren't really sure what to say.
- So, you know, this was a pretty normal family dinner.