The Greatest of all Time

HIST 3312 Decol

"We have a lot of problems, a lot of problems that we have to solve among ourselves prostitution problems, dope problems, game fight problems, knowledge of self problems. The black people have no knowledge of themselves, we have been made just like white people mentally, and white people have made us so much like them until its hard to teach them anything about themselves. Its hard to teach them to unite and marry and be with their own, because they're now like white people. Black people are now like white people. They’re so brainwashed that we have to re-brainwash them, and teach them more about themselves and their own history, their own names and their own language, to respect and protect their own women. Do something for themselves and quit always begging white people for things they should do for themselves."

Muhammad Ali, the greatest of all time.

When We Were Kings is a documentary film about Muhammad Ali and his great fight with George Forman. The documentary follows his fight in Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, "The Rumble in the Jungle" which happened on Oct 30th 1974. It was regarded as one of the most important and greatest fights in history and went on to win an Oscar. But the documentary, was not just about the fight, it was a journey with Ali.

For Ali, it was never just about the fight. If anything, that is what the documentary shows most prominently. The documentary, along with detailing the journey to the fight, it showed what Ali meant to the people of the world, especially Africans. It showed that Ali’s fight, and championship meant so much more than just a title. The scenes showing scores of Africans showing up to support Ali and the story shared about the people coming out even in the monsoons in Kinshasa depict an undying love for Ali.

The aspect the documentary showed more than anything else is that Ali used his platform to fight for the betterment of the African world. He spoke out against injustice, he stood by his beliefs, and above all he believed in a better life for Africans and Afro-Americans. However, this may not have been possible without Ali’s position in the sports world. His ability to defeat opponents and win the World Heavyweight Champion title is what gave him the dignity, respect and visibility to do what he believes in. Boxing was his path into the white world, a world owned by white men implementing white policies, a world where white men created black “white” men. Through boxing Ali showed that it was possible to step out of the white man’s world and work to create a world for everybody.

It was in boxing that Ali found himself, his passion, his worth. The worth that was stripped of him the day he came into the world as a black man. When Ali became the greatest boxer of all time, he showed the world that a black man can be the greatest and he will be. He not only showed the white men of the world but he showed his black brothers the endless possibilities once they united and worked together.