Dee, Mama's eldest daughter, is a well-educated black woman. In embracing her traditional identity, she changed her name from Dee to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo (an African name). So, Dee notifies her mother that she has changed her name to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo in protest of the injustice and cultural bleaching that Black Americans have experienced.
The concept of modification names also has a connection to servitude; the personalities were attempting to erase their names of slaves and adopt more conventional names to recall their history and emphasize their African ancestry
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Dee has initiated a unique identity for her, rejecting her true ancestors. She refuses to recognize her given name's family tradition and adopts a new name, Wangero, which she thinks more appropriately portrays her African origin.
Dee has constructed a new heritage for herself and rejected her real heritage. She fails to see the family legacy of her given name and takes on a new name, Wangero, which she believes more accurately represents her African heritage. However, like the 'African' attire she wears to make statements, the new name has no meaning. She has a limited awareness of Africa, therefore what she perceives to be her authentic ancestry is fictitious. Dee also considers her true ancestors to be deceased.
The process of naming, renaming in Dee's case,' is a means of linking to history and a reflection of identity fluidity. Maggie's name is never revealed, and Mama's identity is never revealed, we do know, however, that these two people are steadfast and have significant ties to their past. As a result, it's understandable that their names and identities are nondescript. Dee, on the other side, adopts an African name in an attempt to reinvent herself and accept what she perceives to be her genuine background. Dee considers that the name Wangero, which has been passed down through four generations, has more force and importance than Dee. Dee's erroneous idea that she was called after her captors demonstrates a serious lack of comprehension. She perceives her given name as a metaphor for racial oppression, and she is quick to pass judgment. Dee's desire to change her name reflects her conflicted feelings about her ancestors.
In other words, has moved away from her own family's traditions and heritage, and has changed her name to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo as part of her quest to reconnect with her African ancestry. In the process of trying to reclaim her 'old' origins. In striving to reclaim her 'ancient' origins, she has also rejected, or at the very least refused to recognize, her more immediate history, which she shares with her mother and sister.
Dee is shown as an intelligent, self-assured young woman who supports the Black Nationalism movement to appreciate her traditional African roots while rejecting America's oppressive society, which involves some of her ancestors. To demonstrate her new identity as an independent, strong African woman, Dee changes her name to Wangero Leewanika Kemanjo. Dee denies her conventional family background in favor of shunning the previous slave masters who gave her forefathers their names.
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