Mohammad Ali, arguably one of the most celebrated sports and civil rights personalities of all time, was born on January 17, 1942. So in commemoration of what would have been his 77th birthday, we decided to bring you an untold Ali story. One which tells of the stereotypes and complexes he had about Africa and its people before traveling to the continent and mixing with Africans.
His new experiences sharpened his acceptance of the fact that he was African, and thus helped him to champion the cause of the black race until his demise.
Before visiting Africa
Muhammad Ali, originally christened Cassius Clay, had a totally biased and misinformed view about Africa before visiting. In his defense, not much good was thought of Africa in his time. The American media at the time didn’t even help matters. One of such media statements that fashioned his stereotype for Africa was the description of the British Gold Coast by Times magazine. The article described the area now known as Ghana as a sun-baked wasteland with its people living in holes in the ground. At the time of this release, Ali was just 11-years old.
With that statement little is left to the imagination as to the kind of mindset Ali had about Africa. Once he described the US as the best country in the world, saying even it was difficult to get a meal at times, it was far better than fighting off alligators or living in a mud hut. There’s a lot to be said about how he felt about Africans and Africa before stepping foot on the continent for the first time.
Visiting the African Jungle
After taking part in the Olympics, Ali got a revelation that the next phase of his work was as an activist which led to his conversion to Islam. One major event that inspired following this cause was the murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till in Mississippi for flirting with a white woman.
Ali said he had won a gold medal for the country yet was still treated badly. So bad he couldn’t eat at certain restaurants, his movement was restricted to areas colored people were allowed, and he was still called “boy.” Finally getting a grasp of the fact that his achievements brought no change to his status or how he was being treated, he decided to visit his brothers and sisters in Africa.
Ali visited Africa in 1964, the same year he won the heavyweight title after defeating Sonny Liston. He was invited by Kwame Nkrumah to Ghana and was welcomed amidst lots of fanfare. In explaining the reason for his stereotype he said, they were never told of the beautiful side of Africa and its people. All they knew about Africa was that it was a jungle filled with lions and elephants.
He visited other African countries on this same trip and established the fact that he had more dignity in his new name, Muhammad Ali. Ali’s fight of 1974 against George Foreman held in the area now known as the Democratic Republic of Congo. There was a huge crowd numbering over 60,000 chanting “Ali Bomaye” in the native Lingala tongue meaning “Ali kill him.” This experience cemented his connection with the continent, bringing it under the spotlight.
The New Ali
On returning to the US, he told a reporter he was glad his grandpa had gotten on the slave ship. It is recorded that as he became more mature he had more consciousness of Africa, regretting most of the words he had spoken before his visit.
He forged lifelong friendships with many African leaders one of whom is Nelson Mandela. He visited the continent several times before his death, continuing to fight the rights of black people till he took his last breath.