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.