Odessa Grady Clay

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Odessa Grady Clay

Odessa Grady Clay with Muhammad Ali
Born February 12, 1917
Hopkins County, Kentucky, U.S.A.
Died August 20, 1994 (aged 77)
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.A.
Occupation Relative, Housewife
Spouse Cassius Marcellus Clay, Sr. (1912-1990)
Children Muhammad Ali, Rahman Ali
Parents John Lewis Grady, Birdie B. Morehead

Odessa Clay (née Grady), (February 12, 1917 – August 20, 1994) was the mother of three-time World Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali (born 1942) and Rudolph Valentino Clay, now Rahman Ali and grandmother of Laila Ali. She married Cassius Marcellus Clay, Sr. (1912 - 1990) in the 1930s and worked for some time as a household domestic to help support her young children.[1]

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[edit] Early life

Odessa was born in Hopkins County, Kentucky, the daughter of John Lewis Grady and his wife Birdie B. Morehead; one of her maternal grandparents, Tom Moorehead, was the son of a white Moorehead and a slave named Dinah. Mrs. Clay's other grandfather was a white Irishman named Abe Grady, who emigrated to the United States from County Clare, Ireland, soon after the Civil War and married a "free colored woman" whose name is unknown.[2]

Like her husband, Cassius Sr., Odessa grew up in a segregated society in which African Americans did not enjoy the same rights and privileges as white Americans. It was hard for African Americans to find jobs. Odessa's mother worked as a domestic, taking care of the household chores and the young children of a white family. When Odessa became an adolescent, she dropped out of school and also found work as a domestic. Then, when she was sixteen years old, she met twenty-year-old Cassius, whom everyone referred to as 'Cash'. They soon married and settled into their own house in Louisville, Kentucky.[3]

[edit] Influence on Muhammad Ali

Through her strong Christian belief Odessa Grady Clay had a great influence on the life and spiritual upbringing of both of her sons, regularly taking them to church and teaching them to follow the Christian precept of 'loving their neighbour'. Muhammad Ali later said, "My mother is a Baptist, and when I was growing up, she taught me all she knew about God. Every Sunday, she dressed me up, took me and my brother to church, and taught us the way she thought was right. She taught us to love people and treat everybody with kindness. She taught us it was wrong to be prejudiced or hate. I've changed my religion and some of my beliefs since then, but her God is still God; I just call him by a different name. And my mother, I'll tell you what I've told people for a long time. She's a sweet, fat, wonderful woman, who loves to cook, eat, make clothes, and be with family. She doesn't drink, smoke, meddle in other people's business, or bother anyone, and there's no one who's been better to me my whole life."[4]

Mrs. Clay supported and inspired her son throughout his boxing career. Whether at small gyms early in her son's boxing career or at international arenas when he became world famous, Odessa Clay traveled with her son and was a ring-side regular at his bouts.[5] Cassius Jr. was much closer to his mother, Odessa, whom he lovingly called "Bird", than to his father. She was his rock. After discovering boxing, it was his mother whom he confided to, "I'm gonna be champion of the world." He shared his dreams of greatness with her. And she encouraged him.[6]

[edit] Final days

Odessa Clay died of heart failure on August 18, 1994 at Hurstbourne Health Center, a nursing home, in the Louisville, Kentucky area. Mrs. Clay had been disabled by a stroke since February 1994, according to a family friend.[7] According to wargs.com, on The Clay family, Odessa had died in Berrien County, Michigan.

Odessa Grady Clay was the grandmother of Laila Ali.

In the 2001 film Ali Odessa Grady Clay was played by Candy Ann Brown.[8]

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Biography Channel - Muhammed Ali Biography
  2. ^ Irish Cultural Society of San Antonio
  3. ^ Chapter Excerpt: Muhammad Ali by Matt Christopher
  4. ^ Amazon.com: Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times: Books: Thomas Hauser
  5. ^ http://64.233.183.104/search?q=cache:D8o7pHoVcD4J:www.courier-journal.com/cjsports/ali_archive/series2.html+odessa+clay+ringside+ali&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=1&gl=uk
  6. ^ Gregory Allen Howard - Screenwriter - Remember The Titans - Ali
  7. ^ Odessa Lee Grady Clay, 77, mother of boxing legend Muhammad Ali, dies - Obituary - Brief Article | Jet | Find Articles at BNET.com
  8. ^ Ali (2001) - Full cast and crew

[edit] External links

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