In 1960, Muhammad Ali was battering his way to the Olympic Gold, as
Cassius Clay,I watched with admiration. I was 25 years old and had
never seen a Black man so out spoken and cocky. Of course my personal
hero from the boxing world was, and would always be, Joe Lewis. I
remember during the War, going to Seattle's Paramount theater just to
see my hero come on stage and do a bit of shadow boxing and tell all
us kids to mind our folks, eat healthy and never get in trouble.
And what a different world it was back in the days Joe Lewis was
fighting the likes of Jersey Joe Walcott and Billy Conn and Ezard
Charles.
Not a Black person walked the downtown streets of Seattle. I never
thought of it then, but today it is hard to believe. It's as if I
lived on a different planet. I did see Black porters at the train
depot, and an old janitor at the County/City courthouse. And there
was the time I came dashing into our house while my dad was having an
organizing meeting, and stared straight into the face of a Black man.
I remember trying not to look at him, but every time I did, it seemed
that he was watching me. Seattle's Black population was crammed into
the Central District, and red lining kept them out of most of the
growing suburbs.
Even by 1960, White neighborhoods found ways to keep Black families
out. My lovely neighbor who sent money to the missionaries in Sierra
Leone, panicked at the thought of a Black family moving into the house
next to her. It never happened, but her attitude changed how I saw
her after that. My mother-in-law also panicked at the thought of a
Black family moving next door to my wife and me. "What would you do
if a Big Black Man jumped out of the alley and grabbed Judy?" she
demanded.
"I'd do the same thing if he were a big Green Man. I'd run for help".
She didn't think I was funny.
I recall the sneers and jeers when Muhammad Ali refused to be drafted.
How quickly he was turned on by the very people who had admired his
boxing skill. The longshoremen with whom I ate lunch at George's Cafe
Tavern, said he was an Uppity Nigger, and should stay in "his place".
And what would be the lesson I learned from all of this? Be true to
yourself. Be true to yourself no matter what other people say to you,
or behind your back. Be true to yourself even if your heroes turn out
to have feet of clay. It is me, I am the one I have to go to bed
with. It is me who dwells inside my head. I can walk away from
anyone else, except me.
Carl Jarvis
On 6/6/16, Roger Loran Bailey <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
https://socialistaction.org/2016/06/05/muhammad-ali-1942-2016/
Muhammad Ali: 1942-2016
/ 23 hours ago
June 2016 Muhammad Ali
In tribute to Muhammad Ali, who died on June 3, we are reprinting this
biographical film review, “‘Ali’ is good … but not the greatest,” from
our January 2002 issue.
By JOE AUCIELLO
“Ali,” directed by Michael Mann, starring Will Smith, Mario Van Peebles,
Jon Voight. A Columbia Pictures release, 2001 (rated R, 158 min.)
No Black man in 20th century America was more famous than Muhammad
Ali—not Booker T. Washington, Marcus Garvey, Martin Luther King Jr.,
Malcolm X, or Jesse Jackson. Who else could be, at the same time, an
Olympic champion, a symbol of Black pride and nationalism, a symbol of
youthful rebellion against the establishment both in sports and in
society, a symbol of Islam, an antiwar martyr, and a superbly gifted
athlete with an incredible string of victories?
Muhammad Ali was the hero of an entire generation in the militant 1960s:
loud, brash, obnoxious, controversial, he possessed the strength and
skill to silence his critics and stun his supporters. He fought all over
the world and defeated every major heavyweight fighter of his day,
became champion three times, and successfully fought his most grueling
battles outside the boxing ring.
In his prime Ali stood up to frightening odds as a boxer and as a Muslim
without a moment of self-doubt or self-compromise. No wonder he was
idolized.
Perhaps Ali’s finest moment, the one that required the greatest measure
of strength and courage, came in 1967 at the height of his success, when
the U.S. government ordered the heavyweight champion to register for the
draft. Ali refused on principle, citing his religious faith as a Muslim
and his political convictions as a Black nationalist.
Malcolm X had spoken sharply against Black men’s willingness to enlist
in Washington’s wars, fighting for “freedom” overseas but turning the
other cheek at home. Only weeks before, Martin Luther King Jr. had for
the first time criticized the Vietnam war and linked the civil rights
movement to the peace movement. Muhammad Ali answered the government in
a similar vein: “No Vietnamese ever called me nigger.”
Respectable opinion called him “ungrateful,” “unpatriotic,” and some
even spoke of “treason.” Ali’s heavyweight title and his license to box
were taken away from him. No matter. Ali did not yield.
More than any other athlete and as much as any individual, Muhammad Ali
embodied the hopes of the youth rebellion that he entertained and
inspired. James Brown’s hit song, “Say It Loud (I’m Black and I’m
Proud)” seemed to be written for Muhammad Ali; it was the soundtrack to
his life.
The film “Ali” does not, despite honest effort and good intentions, live
up to the real-life Ali. The dilemma for the director is to capture on
film the story of a man whose life is too large for a movie. The problem
is not satisfactorily resolved, and perhaps, in all fairness, it cannot be.
The film covers the years 1964 to 1974, from the first fight against
Sonny Liston when Ali won the heavyweight championship, to the fight
against George Foreman when Ali regained the crown—the “Rumble in the
Jungle,” which took place in Zaire. (One of his greatest battles, the
third match against Joe Frazier in 1975, the “Thrilla in Manila,” is
omitted).
Also omitted or minimized is the context of Ali’s life. To provide the
historical backdrop and explain the depth of white racism in the 1950s
and 1960s, the civil rights and Black nationalist movements, the Nation
of Islam, the protest struggles against the war in Vietnam, would be to
include more material than a feature length film could possibly contain.
The film’s unintentional result, however, is to diminish Ali’s impact on
his era.
Muhammad Ali is not a man given to introspection, so the story of his
life is largely told from the outside. The film’s infrequent use of
voice-over does little to draw the audience inside the character. As a
result, the audience does not understand, from the film itself, what
motivates Ali.
Ali’s important relationship with Malcolm X, for instance, is never
fully clear. The first hour of the movie is really the Muhammad Ali /
Malcolm X story, told largely from the perspective of “The Autobiography
of Malcolm X” (including scenes of federal agents wiretapping Malcolm’s
phone and directing an informant inside the Nation of Islam).
Why, when Malcolm was forced out of the Nation of Islam, did Ali remain
with Elijah Muhammad instead of following his mentor, Malcolm? Malcolm
himself did not know, and so the movie provides no answer. Ali merely
says to him, “You shouldn’t have quarreled with Elijah Muhammad.”
Despite these limitations of narrative point-of-view, the starring role
is a personal triumph for actor Will Smith. His previous work gave
little hint that he could fill the screen so thoroughly and believably,
especially in the realistically choreographed fight scenes, where the
film is at its best. Smith’s portrayal of Ali has already earned him
Golden Globe nominations, and he is sure to receive an Oscar nomination
as well.
Concluding in 1974, at a moment of triumph, the film says nothing about
Ali’s life in recent years. The Muhammad Ali of today, the puffy-faced
man with the soft voice, slurred speech, and shaking hands—symptoms of
Parkinson’s disease—is still a potent personality. No other athlete had
more right to stand in Atlanta in 1996 to light the Olympic torch.
Now, Hollywood wants to draft Ali as the national Islamic spokesman for
the U.S. war in Afghanistan, a role that unfortunately he is willing to
accept. Perhaps no other public figure could make a more convincing
commercial for U.S. imperialism. But, more than anyone, Ali knows—or
should know—why he once again ought to refuse his support to another of
Washington’s wars.
Yet, despite what Muhammad Ali may say or do today, this film will
remind viewers of a time when he was truly “the greatest.”
Share this:
Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)
June 5, 2016 in Black Liberation, Arts & Culture. Tags: Malcolm X,
Muhammad Ali
Related posts
MOVIE REVIEW:’Ali’ is Good… but not the Greatest!
Malcolm X biography marred by political confusion
The Legacy of Malcolm X
Post navigation
← NDP convention: Mulcair is out, change is in
Newspaper Archives
Newspaper Archives Select Month June 2016 (2) May 2016 (9) April 2016
(12) March 2016 (14) February 2016 (8) January 2016 (11) December
2015 (11) November 2015 (9) October 2015 (8) September 2015 (10)
August 2015 (7) July 2015 (13) June 2015 (9) May 2015 (10) April
2015 (12) March 2015 (9) February 2015 (11) January 2015 (10)
December 2014 (12) November 2014 (11) October 2014 (9) September
2014 (6) August 2014 (10) July 2014 (11) June 2014 (10) May 2014
(11) April 2014 (10) March 2014 (9) February 2014 (11) January 2014
(11) December 2013 (10) November 2013 (11) October 2013 (17)
September 2013 (13) August 2013 (10) July 2013 (11) June 2013 (15)
May 2013 (14) April 2013 (14) March 2013 (12) February 2013 (10)
January 2013 (17) December 2012 (7) November 2012 (8) October 2012
(19) September 2012 (2) August 2012 (27) July 2012 (18) June 2012
(3) May 2012 (19) April 2012 (14) March 2012 (17) February 2012 (19)
January 2012 (17) December 2011 (3) November 2011 (33) October 2011
(14) September 2011 (13) August 2011 (34) July 2011 (24) June 2011
(19) May 2011 (19) April 2011 (15) March 2011 (15) February 2011
(16) January 2011 (15) December 2010 (17) November 2010 (1) October
2010 (6) September 2010 (3) August 2010 (8) July 2010 (7) June 2010
(2) May 2010 (9) April 2010 (3) March 2010 (8) February 2010 (3)
January 2010 (9) December 2009 (6) November 2009 (5) October 2009
(16) September 2009 (3) August 2009 (2) July 2009 (5) June 2009 (2)
May 2009 (7) April 2009 (6) March 2009 (16) February 2009 (9)
January 2009 (10) December 2008 (11) November 2008 (8) October 2008
(16) September 2008 (14) August 2008 (18) July 2008 (12) June 2008
(3) May 2008 (2) April 2008 (3) March 2008 (14) February 2008 (11)
January 2008 (11) December 2007 (8) November 2007 (1) July 2007 (1)
June 2007 (1) April 2007 (1) March 2007 (1) February 2007 (3)
December 2006 (11) November 2006 (11) October 2006 (13) September
2006 (15) August 2006 (11) July 2006 (18) June 2006 (7) May 2006
(14) April 2006 (6) March 2006 (14) February 2006 (5) January 2006
(2) December 2005 (9) November 2005 (8) October 2005 (13) September
2005 (12) August 2005 (9) July 2005 (16) June 2005 (16) May 2005
(16) April 2005 (12) March 2005 (14) February 2005 (19) January 2005
(15) December 2004 (14) November 2002 (17) October 2002 (19) September
2002 (22) August 2002 (21) July 2002 (15) May 2002 (21) April 2002
(21) February 2002 (15) January 2002 (15) December 2001 (17) October
2001 (24) September 2001 (18) July 2001 (19) June 2001 (18) October
2000 (17) September 2000 (21) August 2000 (19) July 2000 (16) June
2000 (26) May 2000 (21) April 2000 (22) March 2000 (28) February
2000 (18) January 2000 (20) December 1999 (20) November 1999 (26)
October 1999 (25) September 1999 (18) August 1999 (40) July 1999
(38) June 1999 (24) May 1999 (27) April 1999 (25) March 1999 (26)
February 1999 (29) January 1999 (24) July 1998 (12)
Search
Get Involved
Donate to help support our work
Get email updates
Join Socialist Action
View socialistactionusa’s profile on Facebook
View SocialistActUS’s profile on Twitter
View SocialistActionCT’s profile on YouTube
Subscribe to Our Newspaper
Blog at WordPress.com. The Expound Theme.
