Real Life Real Faith Men of Faith September Issue | Page 11

MUHAMMAD ALI MEN OF FAITH This year we’ve lost so much greatness, it’s becoming hard to process and keep score. But the loss of Muhammed Ali was black America’s connection to the civil rights movement of the fifties and sixties being permanently severed. Muhammed Ali was the last champion of that era who was outspoken and unapologetically African. What we have left are those who were raised during that era, not those who raised hell during that era. Many remember Ali as the G.O.A.T., the greatest of all times, The Louisville Lip, float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. But as a student of the revolution I am inclined to remember what he did outside the ring. Ali was more direct and vocal about white supremacy and the negative effect it had on African Americans and the world than any other athlete in history. His message was so potent he lost everything because of it and almost found himself sent to the front lines of the Vietnam War to silence him. It was no coincidence Ali was drafted, nor was it a coincidence that he was left alone when it all came crumbling down. America hated Ali, inside and outside the ring because he was not afraid of his African manhood. He was flamboyant, boastful, prideful and fearless, all things white supremacy abhors from freed slaves. Africans in America were free to be black, but they weren’t free to be Americans. Truthfully, America didn’t fall in love with Ali until he could no longer speak as he used to, prideful and loud. And as he was laid to rest, America displayed their disdain for the man he was by comparing him to the KKK and other terrorist hate groups within the U.S. borders. This is the doctrine of America, and even while he was being laid to rest, this country FEATURE couldn’t let him be at peace. This is the reality of blackness in America, even while embracing the coldness of death, we still have to fight. Many believe progress has been made, but I beg to differ. Financial transparency and affirmative action is not progress, its pacification. Africans in America believe we’ve somehow progressed, but in light of more recent events, it’s more evident we’ve been bamboozled. Ali understood that black people couldn’t afford to be diplomatic when it comes to speaking against racism and inequality. Racism is everything but timid and Ali understood we had to stand strong and speak loudly against it. Make America face the ugliness that hides beneath the skyscrapers and industrial progress it loves to boast about every time we turn on the television or open a newspaper. Force America to accept itself, not just when it’s all made up and ready to face the world, but also the ugly morning face laced with the foul stench of racism spewing out of its mouth as it whispers, “good morning”. Africans in America has always fought for this sick romance between ourselves and the orchestrators of our oppression. Like a domestic violence victim, we make excuses and refuse to take action because we really want this love affair to work. We’ve sacrificed so much, lost so much and to be honest, we secretly believe we deserve the abuse. So we repeatedly accept empty promises while sitting on our hands and watching ourselves get beaten into a pulp. Muhammed Ali was a man who was tired and fed up and he was willing to lose everything just as long as he was free from his oppressors. For me, that made him the GOAT, that made him that uncle you wished was your father. Ali was the man you wished was your brother, that celebrity you wished you’d met and had a drink with. His hands were fast, but his mouth was quicker and his words dropped racism to its knees attempting to win that championship bout against oppression. So in closing I want to honor the man, not the myth, not the sports athlete that made America millions while they hated him for it. I want to honor the man that made America hate itself, ashamed of itself and afraid of itself. Rest easy my brother Ali. You’ve fought long enough. We’ll take it from here. There goes the bell, ROUND 434. Knuckle up my people, this fight ain’t over yet.