Un-apologetically African

                We saw this week in our readings how art in the form of music is more than just about aesthetics and contains the history, story and struggles of the slaves of USA. We similarly read how sports is no different than other forms of art and is also a means of expression and a story within itself. The documentary ‘We are Kings’ takes forward both these ideas and gives us a story of how a boxing match contained a legacy far greater and significant than just a spectacle of athleticism.

                The massive crowd support in itself tells us a story. A story of how regardless of two black men fighting in the heart of Africa there is clear support for just one of them as an African against this foreign America personality. As said in the documentary most people thought that Foreman was some white guy that is the amount of antagonism attached to the champ. The one key thing setting Ali apart however was how he chose to represent himself and stand against the white man’s domination on the poor farmers of Vietnam. It mattered to people that here was a black man standing for what he believes in and finally calling out the former white masters. It’s interesting how this is like Malcolm X wanted the black man to be. To unapologetically stand against the white man regardless of the consequences, to not try and get on the white man’s dinner table and to certainly not try to please the white man for their support.  We also see Ali reflecting Malcolm in his speeches. Ali constantly tells the African Americans to not follow the standards set by the whites. In fact he even goes to change his name from Cassius Clay to Cassius X even before his conversion to Islam. All of these attempts to wash away the whiteness he carried is what contributed to his image of being an African fighting against America. The feeling from Ali was also the same as he says right at the beginning “Yeah, Africa is my home.”

                This ownership of blackness becomes even more important when you put into context how most African-Americans at the time were trying to please white people and were trying to become Americans. The documentary said that many would take offense if you were to call black people in USA as Africans. And here we see Ali taking up that African identity as much as he can. He says sure I live in American but my home is Africa. This denial to lose his identity and this proudness of his origins comes in stark contrast to many other black leaders at the time trying to adopt American identities. Ali was unapologetically African and he was proud of it, which is why the people of Africa were proud of him.