Remember Why Muhammad Ali Was Truly Great — Watch “The Trials of Muhammad Ali”
Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them — a desire, a dream, a vision.
-Muhammad Ali
What is the significance of Muhammad Ali passing from this earth just two days before Ramadan? This in the midst of one of the most racist, anti-black, anti-immigrant, Islamophobic elections in the history of the United States. A country he fought for in the Olympics, won the gold medal for, and famously then threw that medal in the Ohio river in disgust at US politics. Despite his brutal honesty, despite his willingness to take a stand for African Americans and all oppressed peoples in the midst of times much more filled with White supremacy and White violence than our own and yet still he went on to be the most globally beloved American in the history of the United States.
His bravery and willingness to stand for what he believed in are traits we could learn deeply from today at a moment when we must stand up and fight to end white supremacy, to end anti-black racism, to end Islamophobia and to end global militarism. Indeed, for everything that American Muslims have been through in the last decade plus, few people can imagine the racism, public scrutiny, and political oppression faced by Muhammad Ali as an African American and as a Muslim during the first decade of his public life. The story of this period in his life starting with his coming out as a Muslim after he defeated Sonny Liston to win the heavyweight championship in 1964 to his supreme court victory as a conscientious objector to the Vietnam war in 1971 is powerfully depicted in the 2013 documentary The Trials of Muhammad Ali directed by Bill Siegel (Available on Hulu and YouTube).
While Ali’s trials were many as the film makes clear how he responded was with dignity, confidence and belief in his religious teachings and his political rights both as a Black American and as a Muslim.
While the boxing highlight reels and two films about his most famous international fights stand out, the oscar winning documentary When We Were Kings, and HBO’s documentary on the Thrilla in Manilla.
Beyond the boxing ring, The Trials of Muhammad Ali focuses on the often overlooked battles for social justice that Ali engaged in during his life that made him not only the “Greatest” boxer of all time, but also the person who is widely considered to be the greatest sports figure of all time.
In his passing the world sings the praise’s of Muhammad Ali but as the film opens we are quickly reminded of how reviled he was by many White people in the 60’s and 70’s. From the racism he faced throughout his life, to the Islamophobia and disrespect he faced for changing his name. Facing constant government surveillance during the FBI’s COINTELPRO era to his greatest battle in standing up to the United States government by refusing to enlist in the military during the Vietnam war this film is highly recommended viewing for everyone. Throughout the world children will be wondering who this man really was, you could change someones life by showing this film and showing them what it truly means to be brave and to make sacrifices for a better world for all of us.
