Episode 03: “A Message of Concern”
Episode Description:
What did Ali believe about heaven and hell as a member of the Nation of Islam? And what exactly did he mean when he said white men were the devil? We’ll take a look at this and explore the opposing religious messaging that began to turn Ali in yet another new direction in his spiritual journey: toward traditional Islam.
People:
Imam Dr. Nasir Ahmad, an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon and imam of the historic Masjid Al-Ansar in Miami, Florida.
Hana Ali, the third youngest child of Muhammad Ali and author of three books about him, the latest being At Home with Muhammad Ali: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Forgiveness.
Maryum Ali, Muhammad Ali’s oldest daughter and first-born child.
Muhammad Ali (archival audio), the Champ.
Zaheer Ali, oral historian and educator.
Suad El-Amin (archival audio), singer and songwriter.
Dr. Edward J. Blum, professor of history at San Diego State University and author of The Color of Christ: The Son of God and the Saga of Race in America.
Alex Haley (referenced), author and most famously known for Roots and his work on Malcolm X’s The Autobiography of Malcolm X.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (archival audio), author, minister, and Civil Rights leader.
Imam Warith Deen Mohammed (referenced), author, religious leader, and son and successor of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad who transitioned the Nation of Islam in 1975 to traditional Islam.
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad (referenced), leader of the Nation of Islam from 1934 - 1975.
Imam Mansoor Sabree, Deputy Director for IMAN in Atlanta, Georgia, and former imam of the Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam.
Dr. Stephen O. Roberts, Assistant Professor of Psychology at Stanford University and co-author and lead researcher of “God as a White man: A psychological barrier to conceptualizing Black people and women as leadership worthy.”
Louis X (archival audio): later became known as Louis Farrakhan, leader of the current Nation of Islam.
Events:
Emmett Till is lynched on August 28, 1955, a horrific crime that happened when Muhammad Ali was only 13 years old, one year younger than Till, and deeply impacted the person Ali became.
Bud Collins of the Boston Globe interviews Muhammad Ali, produced for PBS station THIRTEEN, aired on June 7, 1968.
Cathal O’Shannon interviews Muhammad Ali in Dublin, Ireland, on July 17, 1972, filmed in RTÉ Television’s Studio 1 and broadcast the next day.
Ali tells the press, “I’m heavyweight champion of the world, yet, for a day and a half I had to eat bologna out of a bag… simply because I’m black.” He’d just beat Liston on February 25, 1964 and in his drive from Miami to New York he had to eat in the car until he crossed the Mason-Dixon line on account of the segregated restaurants along the route.
Michael Parkinson interviews Muhammad Ali for the third time, this time at the Mayfair Hotel in London, on December 7, 1974.
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad passes away on the morning of Februay 25, 1975, and the earliest stages of the transition of the Nation of Islam to traditional Islam begins that day under the leadership of his son Wallace, later to be known as Imam W.D. Mohammed.
George Herman, Peter Bonaventre, and Fred Graham interview Muhammad Ali on CBS’s Face the Nation on March 26, 1976.
During a January 23, 2018 Breakfast Club interview with Angela Yee, DJ Envy, and Charlamagne, Laila Ali reveals how the idea of Jesus as white impacts her daughters' love of self and the color of her own skin.
Artifacts:
”Black Jesus” episode of Good Times, season one, episode two, includes reference to Muhammad Speaks newspaper.
Life magazine article in which Ali explains how he explored other religions and civil rights activism before choosing the Nation of Islam.
New York Times article where Ali explains why he chose racial separatism over integration. “I don't want to be blown up. I don't want to be washed down sewers. I just want to be happy with my own kind.”
Insight about the Committee for the Removal of All Images That Attempt to Portray Divine (C.R.A.I.D.) formed by Imam W.D. Mohammed in 1977.
Imam W.D. Mohammed’s “Message of Concern” printed in the front page of the Muslim Journal for decades and made into a song by Suad El-Amin.
Flyer advertising a performance of The Trial at Carnegie Hall in New York.
A history of segregation in America.
Living in Jim Crow America.
A history on the infamous lynching of Mary Turner, possibly the story Ali was talking about when he would often reference the lynching of a pregnant Black woman during his discussion the crimes against humanity that happened to Black people.