Hey, I'm Tom. Funnily enough, not a lot of people know that!

I spend A LOT of time within various communities, and usually, I never introduce myself as Tom. I've always gone by my surname, Nyuma. What if I told you that it wasn't always like that?

The Beginning

I am from Sierra Leone, West Africa.

Quick backstory: My father, Tom Nyuma Sr. was a prominent military commander who later became the chairman of the Kailahun District council.

He was very well-known in Sierra Leone, especially in the Southern and Eastern regions where he served as a military commander during the NPRC administration in the early 90s.

He passed away on January 26th, 2014—when I was in the 7th grade.

Growing up, I definitely noticed a difference in the names of black people in my school; who had more traditional African or Black American names. Names like "Kofi" or "Fatu" or "Darius" or "Khalil". I never really cared about it until I got told things like:

• "You don't look like a Tom"
• "Are you british?"
• "Wait for real? Your name is Tom?"
• "You don't have a 'black' name"

Here's an interesting story on that:

My niece, Natalie, made me realize upon being called "Uncle Tom" that it was a derogatory term. One time, we were in a restaurant when my niece called me "Uncle Tom" and someone listening in overheard her and said "You shouldn't call him that, it's a derogatory term." — little did they know that my real name was Tom.

This was when I was still a delinquent/problem child. Once I started getting my life together, I started learning about history.

I learned about Uncle Tom and Uncle Tomism and how it was used to describe Black people who were seen as "overly submissive" and "willing to cooperate with their slave owners".

The History Behind My Name

Sierra Leone has a rich and complex history that dates back to pre-colonial times. The geographical boundaries of contemporary Sierra Leone were shaped by the intense quest for imperial domains by European powers during the 19th-century scramble for colonies.

The history runs deep into the past, with organized states that had many structures and organized systems long before the arrival of Europeans in the region of West Africa in the 15th century.

The transatlantic slave trade and subsequent British colonial rule from 1808 to 1961 significantly disrupted these systems, but the resilience of the Sierra Leonean people enabled them to rebound and eventually gain independence in 1961 (source).

Growing up, I was always known as Tom, a name that is distinctly British. But, upon learning more about the history, it was exposed to me that this name was not chosen by my ancestors but was forced upon them during the era of slavery. My ancestors, like many others, were stripped of their original identities and given "British" names.

This history of forced assimilation and the erasure of our cultural identities is something I only started to critically think about once I got to college and learned more about United States and West African history.

So why go by Nyuma?

In high school, I didn't pay enough attention to realize the significance of my name. It was only through my college education and personal research that I began to understand the weight of this history. I realized that by going by my surname, Nyuma, I could reclaim a part of my heritage and honor my ancestors who were forced to take on names that were not their own.

By embracing my surname, I am making a conscious effort to connect with my roots and acknowledge the resilience of my ancestors. It is a small but significant way for me to honor their memory and the rich history of Sierra Leone.