Film Review: The Trials of Muhammad Ali

Review: Challenges in and out of ring in 'Trials of 

Muhammad Ali'

Bill Siegel reminds us of the negativity Muhammad Ali faced when he converted to Islam, changed his name and refused to go to war.

By Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times Film Critic

September 26, 2013, 4:35 p.m.

Muhammad Ali has one of the most recognizable faces in the world and is such a beloved public persona that George W. Bush personally presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the ultimate honor for an American civilian, in 2005.

It would not have been that many years earlier, however, when, if Bush had thought of Ali at all, it would have been in terms of opprobrium and fury. How had things changed so much in such a short time, and what had Ali done in the first place to earn the scorn of the nation's establishment?

"The Trials of Muhammad Ali" is a complex and involving documentary that looks deeply into these and related issues, presenting Ali from the unusual point of view of his outside-the-ring religious and political beliefs. It also underlines the point made by writer Robert Lipsyte, who shrewdly notes that "so many ways of looking at him have only to do with us and have nothing to do with him."

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Directed by Bill Siegel, who co-directed the Oscar-nominated "The Weather Underground," "Trials" interviews numerous people close to Ali, including his brother Rahman; his second wife, Khalilah Camacho-Ali; former New York Times sportswriter Lipsyte; and Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. (Ali, who has Parkinson's disease, is present only in newsreel clips.) Together they present an intriguing portrait of a man who never wavered no matter what the world threw at him. Which was a lot.

"Trials" begins with two clips that underline the often forgotten savagery that Ali faced. The first is a blistering attack delivered by talk show host David Suskind in 1968, calling Ali "a disgrace ... a simplistic fool and a pawn." This is followed immediately by Farrakhan's recollection of Ali's bitter feeling about his place in the American racial landscape.

The film then flashes back to 1960 and then-Cassius Clay's gold medal win in the Rome Olympics and how a wealthy syndicate from his hometown of Louisville, Ky. (the group's only survivor is interviewed), guided his professional life.

Though America was shocked by Clay's conversion to Islam and his decision to change his name, "Trials" makes it clear that this had been a long time coming, starting with a young boy's wondering why Jesus and all the angels were white.

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The film talks to Abdul Rahman Muhammad, who connected the fighter to the Nation of Islam when they met in 1961, and he reinforces that the future Ali was already familiar with the teachings through a celebrated phonograph record made by Farrakhan, "The White Man's Heaven Is the Black Man's Hell."

Perhaps the feistiest interviewee is second wife Camacho-Ali, a schoolgirl when they first met, who tells of tearing up the man's "Cassius Clay" autograph and telling him to come back when he knows who he is.

After surprising the boxing world by defeating Sonny Liston for the heavyweight championship in 1964, Clay announced his previous conversion to Islam and that change of name, both of which shocked the sporting world even more.

Given that time has proven how serious and sincere a commitment this conversion was, it's a shock to see how people disregarded it and refused to use the new name.

"I'm no slave," Ali says more than once. "Don't call me by a white man's name."

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Equally unnerving is to hear how Ali took his revenge on boxers who didn't respect him, not only beating but also punishing fighters Floyd Patterson and Ernie Terrell rather than knocking them out.

"You can't be a great fighter without a mean streak," says Lipsyte, adding that the Terrell fight was "a truly terrible moment in boxing history."

Worse was yet to come. At the height of the Vietnam War, Ali's Louisville draft board reclassified him 1A, leading to the boxer's decision to declare himself a conscientious objector because of his Muslim beliefs.

As a result, Ali was stripped of his championship and sentenced to prison. Even though the Supreme Court eventually voided that conviction, Ali was not allowed to fight for 31/2 years, during which time he honed his abilities as a public speaker and lived off the fees.

Ali's faith in Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad never wavered, not even when his mentorMalcolm X was assassinated in 1965. His steadfastness gradually won him regard from people who had earlier been critical, including Martin Luther King Jr., who is seen saying, "Whatever you think of his religion, you have to admire his courage."

After dealing with Ali's 1970 fight with Jerry Quarry, his first after his involuntary hiatus, "Trials" treads lightly on his life to date, talking to one of his daughters, Hana, about what it was like to be the child of a man who considered himself to be "daddy to the world."

Summarizes Lipsyte, "He didn't transcend boxing until he returned to boxing," one of the many paradoxes of a life that requires this gripping second look.

kenneth.turan@latimes.com

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'The Trials of Muhammad Ali'

No MPAA rating

Running time: 1 hour, 34 minutes

Playing: At Laemmle's Royal, West Los Angeles

Invisible Man Banned

Subject: [TONIGHT] Tell Randolph County school board to reverse its ban on "Invisible Man"

Black literature is under attack. Demand Randolph County reverse its ban on Invisible Man at tonight's meeting.

Dear Editor,
It took just one letter from an angry parent to convince a North Carolina school district to remove Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man from school libraries in the county. A short board meeting prompted by a single letter — describing one of the most significant pieces of Black literature in American history as "filthy" — was all that five members of the Randolph County Board of Education needed to feel justified in voting to ban the novel last week.¹ It's just the kind of quiet injustice — and officially-sanctioned bias — that happens behind closed doors in towns across the country all of the time. But this time, we have an opportunity to push back.
Just days after Randolph's decision made national headlines, the school board called an emergency special meeting for tonight regarding the ban.² If a couple of bad press hits is enough to make Randolph reconsider, imagine how powerful thousands of our voices can be.
The Board is meeting TONIGHT. Will you join us in demanding that the school board reverse its decision and return Invisible Man to library shelves? It only takes a moment.
This isn't the first time in recent months that books by Black authors depicting American racism have been attacked. Earlier this month, the president of the Ohio Board of Education called Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye "pornographic."³ And in July, a Detroit-area school district came under fire for dumping a collection of over 10,000 volumes of invaluable Black books and artifacts.⁴ Enough is enough.
Banning Black stories not only alienates Black students, it denies all students the opportunity to engage with and discuss important themes like racial enmity in society and the development of personal identity. For elected officials concerned with the education of our young people, it's particularly perverse that Randolph's school board failed to recognize the irony of banning a book that's about silencing critical voices and the ways in which racist culture restricts individuals from reaching their full human potential.
Please join us in calling on the Randolph County school board to reverse its book ban at tonight's meeting. Together we can send a message about the critical value of Black literature in our schools.
Thanks and Peace,
--Rashad, Arisha, Matt, Kim, Hannah, Johnny and the rest of the ColorOfChange team.
   September 25th, 2013
Help support our work. ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU—your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or large corporations that don't share our values, and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way.
  References
1. "Invisible Man Banned: Ralph Ellison's Landmark Novel Banned From School Libraries," Huffington Post, 09-19-13
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2956?t=9&akid=3136.1164386.IUBIr2 
2. "Board to reconsider its 'Invisible Man' ban," Asheboro Courier-Tribune, 09-20-13
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2957?t=11&akid=3136.1164386.IUBIr2
3. "ACLU to Ohio schools leader: Toni Morrison's 'The Bluest Eye' not porn," News Channel 5, 09-12-13
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2958?t=13&akid=3136.1164386.IUBIr2 
4. "Discarded Black history books incite protests in Detroit," Amsterdam News, 08-10-13
http://act.colorofchange.org/go/2959?t=15&akid=3136.1164386.IUBIr2 

Marvin X as Plato teaching on the streets of Oakland

Oakland Youth at Academy of da Corner, 14th and Broadway

Marvin X as Plato

By Marvin X

After stopping by  Marvin X's outdoor classroom at 14th and Broadway, downtown Oakland, Ishmael Reed told the students gathered around Marvin X, "He's the modern day Plato, teaching his students on the street." Marvin told the people gathered in front on DeLauer's bookstore, "Ishmael Reed is my elder. He's always been supportive of my projects and I deeply appreciate him for this."

Ishmael had come to the bookstore /24/7 new stand to get a copy of the Sunday Los Angeles Times which carried a review of his latest book. He said the review cut him up as usual. He said people cut him up for his views on Alice Walker and other feminists, but according to Ishmael the most critical review of Walker's Color Purple was by Toni Morrison.

The people who stop at the open air classroom include a cross section of Oakland's humanity, including whites, blacks, youth and elders. David Glover, director of OCCUR, stopped through to advise Marvin to be a part of the cultural committee for the Ron Dellums administration soon to take the reins of Oakland.

A young sister stopped to say she was in pain because her friends are being killed on the streets for no reason. She has vowed not to be a victim but she is traumatized at the loss of some many friends. She is 19.

The police officer who works the beat that includes 14th and Broadway, comes through picking up litter. Seems a waste of time for the officer to pick up litter when there are so many unsolved homicides. The officer is known to post up at 12 o'clock to listen to Plato talk with his variety of students.

A brother came by to challenge Plato, telling him he didn't know anything, especially since he wasn't from the south, New Orleans in particular. Plato told him New Orleans was as much a killing floor as Oakland, look at the recent deployment of National Guard to stop the murders.

Another brother came through and invited Marvin to speak with youth at a West Oakland school. He agreed, telling the brother, "I recently spoke with children at the Black Repertory Group's summer camp. I was deeply impressed with their intelligence. They asked serious questions, as serious as any I've received from college and university students across the country."

On Sunday, July 30, Plato was given a book party in Richmond, another Bay Area killing floor. But the party, hosted by Sister Shukuru, was probably the most powerful gathering of black consciousness people in Richmond history. The party was attended by movement elders and organizers, including Alona Cliffton, Phil Hutchins of SNCC,

Margo Dashiel, Dr. James Garrett, Dr. J. Vern Cromartie, Jim Lacey, Ann Lynch, Suzzette Celeste, Richmond poet President Davis representing conscious hip hop.

Poet Opal Palmer Adisa gave a reading of her work that was as spicy and hot as a two dollar pistol in South Philly.

The audience was enraptured by the musical accompaniment of Elliott Bey Savoy, who backed Marvin's reading and the audience discussion. A brother showed a video of himself reading Marvin X's poem The Origin of Blackness in Venezuela. He read in Spanish, then English. The poem was originally written in English/Arabic. Marvin then read an updated version on the theme of the poem, Black History is World History. Much thanks to Sister Shukuru, a great organizer, formerly with Brooklyn's East.

*   *   *   *   *

Plato's Students Plato stood at the subway entrance on Broadway in front of DeLauer's news store that serves as his outdoor classroom. Three young girls come out of the SUB sandwich shop. Seeing Plato's books on display, they ask if he wrote them. "Yes." " You live in Oakland?" " Yes." " You grow up in Oakland?" " Yes." " Where?" "Seventh and Campbell." The girls laugh and giggle with shame, "He grew up in Campbell Village," they say to each other. " He from the bottom." " I don't know what ya talkin bout the bottom. I don't use that term. I grew up on Seventh and  \\ Campbell. That ain't Campbell Village." "Yes it is," they insisted, "He from the projects. You wrote them books, huh?"" Yeah.  And what if I am from the projects, so damn what?" " Don't get mad," one said. "I ain't mad."  " "  Why don't you write a book for young people?"What do you want me to write about young  people?" "Write about how bad boys treat us. "I might do that."  "What's your grandson's name? "What?" "Your grandson, what's his name?" He don't live in West Oakland." " Oh, well, we go tell our mamas to come buy yo books." They ran down Broadway toward  home. Plato stood thinking about what they'd said. So what if he grew up in the projects? Maybe he should write something for young people. And how did they know he had grandsons? Plato scratched his beard.

posted 3 August 2006 / Chickenbones.com/Nathaniel Turner.com

Plato Negro returns home to his Academy of da Corner, 14th and Broadway, downtown Oakland

After months away from his home base, Marvin X, aka Plato Negro, returned to his peripatetic Academy of da Corner at 14th and Broadway, downtown Oakland. The people were happy to see him after so long. They told him things have gotten worse since he's been gone. They youth have gotten worse with shootings in the downtown area in broad daylight. Surely, your presence will make things better, we need you here, said one lady. 

Several people had never seen his booth before and asked what he was all about. I am about spirituality, healing, inspiration, grief counseling, micro loan bank, books on credit, the community archives project, mentoring young men/ women and writers, education, literature, etc.

A young lady asked how he writes his books? You gotta get off the cell phone, get the woman or partner off your shoulder reading what you wrote about some other woman, i.e., solitude. 

In solitude one can, especially in nature, transcend your own thoughts and arrive at thoughts from the Divine. The Holy Spirit will guide your hand, you need only hold the pen, Allah is the ink!

If you need to catch Marvin X, best to call for an appointment or get his schedule, please call

510-200-4164. 

Save the date: March 1-2, 2014, University of California, Merced, presents a conference on the Black Arts Movement/Black Power Movement. 

USA: Gun Runner No. 1

How can you win when you ain't right within?

Gun runner No. 1

Posted By Joshua Keating  Sunday, April 28, 2013 - 9:57 PM   Share

One of the most infamous moments of the bloody uprising that followed Zimbabwe's disputed 2008 election was the so-called "ship of shame" -- a Chinese freighter discovered carrying small arms, rocket-propelled grenades, and mortars to Robert Mugabe's landlocked regime. Zimbabwe's neighbors denied the ship docking rights, but the incident only reinforced the perception that China has become the arms dealer of choice for Africa's most brutal thugs, whether aged tyrants like Mugabe or the genocidal dictatorship in Sudan.

But this image may not be entirely fair: When it comes to selling guns to shady regimes, the United States is still firmly No. 1.

In constant 1990 U.S. dollars. Source: 2012 SIPRI Arms Transfers Database

In a recent report for International Studies Quarterly, political scientists Paul Midford and Indra de Soysa looked at U.S. and Chinese arms transfers to Africa from 1989 to 2006, using data collected by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. They found no statistical correlation between China and the types of regimes it supplied with weapons, while U.S. arms shipments were slightly negatively correlated with democracy. In plain English, China actually turned out to be less likely to sell weapons to dictators than America was.

"It isn't that China is there to do good; they're pursuing their national interest," Midford says. "But we didn't find any evidence that they're trying to spread a 'Beijing consensus' or promote regimes that are specifically autocratic."

The report focuses on Africa, but similar human rights concerns have been raised about U.S. weapons transfers to Persian Gulf autocracies such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates, which collectively helped drive a more than 300 percent jump in U.S. arms sales in 2011 amid rising tensions with Iran.

Midford emphasizes that the report is not meant to suggest the United States prefers to sell weapons to dictators. "The U.S. is choosing to support autocrats based on a geopolitical rationale," Midford says, "as is China."

Note: This post originally ran in Foreign Policy's May/June 2013 issue.