WEBVTT 1 00:00:01.040 --> 00:00:03.399 We counted all joy that you are here with us 2 00:00:03.439 --> 00:00:07.080 today per usual, Doctor West, and I are excited. This 3 00:00:07.320 --> 00:00:12.439 is our teach in Thursday session. And my god, I 4 00:00:12.480 --> 00:00:16.679 don't know how we keep doing it, but personality after personality, 5 00:00:16.760 --> 00:00:20.559 they are all folks who have shaped and shaped the 6 00:00:20.559 --> 00:00:25.120 world in different capacities, and it just keeps getting sweeter 7 00:00:25.160 --> 00:00:29.480 and sweeter and sweeter every single time. On today's teaching Thursday, 8 00:00:29.719 --> 00:00:33.039 we're talking about the one and only cash. 9 00:00:32.880 --> 00:00:33.920 Is Clay. 10 00:00:35.439 --> 00:00:40.560 Changing the name to Mohammad Ali, float like a butterfly 11 00:00:40.679 --> 00:00:44.840 and sting like a beat. Muhammad Ali was born on 12 00:00:45.200 --> 00:00:49.840 January seventeenth, nineteen forty two, and he went to the 13 00:00:49.920 --> 00:00:58.039 ancestral plane on June third, twenty sixteen. That wasn't Muhammad 14 00:00:58.000 --> 00:00:58.640 Ali calling me. 15 00:00:58.679 --> 00:00:59.359 I wish that was. 16 00:00:59.399 --> 00:01:02.439 That could have been this period. No Muhammad a leave 17 00:01:02.640 --> 00:01:06.599 just calling me in y'all. Oh, my god, Doc, we 18 00:01:06.719 --> 00:01:08.840 got so much to cover. I mean, he was a boxer, 19 00:01:09.000 --> 00:01:17.640 a father, a revolutionary, a husband, He found a different 20 00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:22.760 faith in the Nation of Islam, close friends with Minister 21 00:01:22.879 --> 00:01:27.239 Malcolm X, who we just recognized on May nineteenth. Had 22 00:01:27.280 --> 00:01:30.879 he still been alive on this plane would have been 23 00:01:30.959 --> 00:01:34.159 one hundred years old. I mean the types of folks 24 00:01:34.200 --> 00:01:37.799 that were bringing forward on our teacher in thursdays. It's 25 00:01:37.879 --> 00:01:39.400 like it's better than a good meal. 26 00:01:41.239 --> 00:01:45.840 Isn't that the true? True? Isn't that the true? No? 27 00:01:45.959 --> 00:01:48.159 I think Muhammad I Lei was the freest black man 28 00:01:48.200 --> 00:01:53.239 in the twentieth century, alongside Richard Pryor and Malcolm black Man. 29 00:01:53.319 --> 00:01:59.239 What I mean is indescribable levels of self respect, self regard, 30 00:01:59.319 --> 00:02:02.480 and self as willing to speak from the depths of 31 00:02:02.519 --> 00:02:05.599 his own heart, mind, soul and pay any cost to 32 00:02:05.640 --> 00:02:09.479 do it, and do it with so style. See, that's 33 00:02:09.520 --> 00:02:11.840 what it is to be free. And certainly for a 34 00:02:11.879 --> 00:02:15.319 free black man and a white supremacist civilization black people 35 00:02:15.400 --> 00:02:18.400 that thought to hate themselves, he had levels of self 36 00:02:18.439 --> 00:02:23.639 love and self respect that liberated thousands and thousands of 37 00:02:23.759 --> 00:02:28.439 not millions of people all around the world. In fact, 38 00:02:28.599 --> 00:02:30.960 is in the millions all around the world. But I 39 00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:34.360 know you certainly helped liberate me. When I saw that, brother, 40 00:02:34.439 --> 00:02:39.199 I said, Wow, good God, might tee that's what it 41 00:02:39.360 --> 00:02:42.439 is to be free. 42 00:02:43.199 --> 00:02:44.199 Yeah, me too. 43 00:02:44.479 --> 00:02:47.199 And just even in my studies in college, just coming 44 00:02:47.199 --> 00:02:49.680 to understand that he was so much more than a boxer. 45 00:02:50.319 --> 00:02:53.319 And I mean that with all all respect, what he 46 00:02:53.400 --> 00:02:56.280 was able to do in that ring definitely known as 47 00:02:56.280 --> 00:03:00.599 the greatest of all times in his time in that arena. 48 00:03:01.719 --> 00:03:05.240 Cannot take any of that from him. And he was 49 00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:07.879 the greatest of all times in other areas of his 50 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:12.319 life as well, in terms of standing up for black people, 51 00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:18.319 having the clarity of mind to challenge the system in 52 00:03:18.360 --> 00:03:22.080 a way that caused him to have to sacrifice so much. 53 00:03:22.120 --> 00:03:25.000 I mean, the federal government came, the government came at 54 00:03:25.080 --> 00:03:28.560 him over him not wanting to go to the Vietnam War. 55 00:03:29.039 --> 00:03:31.000 He was crystal clear in. 56 00:03:30.960 --> 00:03:34.639 Terms of his conviction, the level of sacrifice that this 57 00:03:34.759 --> 00:03:38.400 man made by just being him. I think all of 58 00:03:38.439 --> 00:03:43.199 these things doc were innate in him, and it's like 59 00:03:43.759 --> 00:03:45.759 a sculptor sculpting clay. 60 00:03:46.520 --> 00:03:47.960 There no pun intended. 61 00:03:48.560 --> 00:03:51.520 The more and more he was more of himself and 62 00:03:51.639 --> 00:03:57.000 following his purpose, the more that formation really came. And 63 00:03:57.080 --> 00:04:00.759 I mean he challenged white supremacy straight up. And because 64 00:04:00.759 --> 00:04:04.039 he was good looking and he was fierce, he was 65 00:04:04.120 --> 00:04:06.919 quick witted. Just as quick as he was in that ring, 66 00:04:07.280 --> 00:04:10.800 he was quick outside the ring in terms of tangling 67 00:04:10.919 --> 00:04:12.800 up some of some of these folks who thought they 68 00:04:12.800 --> 00:04:16.199 were the best thinkers you know, in in in the world, 69 00:04:16.680 --> 00:04:19.639 the one of I remember when he was making it 70 00:04:19.680 --> 00:04:22.000 clear that he was not going to go to the 71 00:04:22.079 --> 00:04:27.120 Vietnam War, he made a statement that you know, basically 72 00:04:27.160 --> 00:04:30.360 saying that this country is wrong. And then he also said, 73 00:04:31.759 --> 00:04:33.959 none of those people over there ever called me the 74 00:04:34.079 --> 00:04:40.519 N word, but yet every day in this country, my 75 00:04:40.680 --> 00:04:45.040 people and me were called ends and we're just guarded 76 00:04:45.079 --> 00:04:47.120 and were disrespected. So you want to send me over 77 00:04:47.160 --> 00:04:50.839 to fight other brown people when they've done nothing to me? 78 00:04:51.800 --> 00:04:55.519 That's it. No, And that's that's that's his courage, that 79 00:04:55.879 --> 00:05:01.079 is with his wisdom, that's his fearlessness. And I think 80 00:05:01.079 --> 00:05:04.680 he got a lot of it from Odessa his mother. 81 00:05:04.879 --> 00:05:08.079 He got a lot of it from Cassius Place Senior, 82 00:05:08.240 --> 00:05:11.199 his father. He was shaping the Centennial Baptist Church right 83 00:05:11.240 --> 00:05:14.319 there in Louisville, Kentucky. He got a lot of it 84 00:05:14.360 --> 00:05:17.560 from his partners. And you think now he's very young. 85 00:05:17.600 --> 00:05:20.680 I mean, he wins the championship when he's twenty two 86 00:05:21.279 --> 00:05:26.720 years I was unprecedented, with the exception of Floyd Patterson, 87 00:05:26.759 --> 00:05:28.879 who one of the twenty one the Tyson Mike Tyson 88 00:05:28.920 --> 00:05:31.480 would go on to win when he's twenty but back 89 00:05:31.519 --> 00:05:34.560 in nineteen sixty four. He's born in nineteen forty two, 90 00:05:34.600 --> 00:05:38.680 he's twenty two years old. He's got the international stage. 91 00:05:38.759 --> 00:05:41.879 He is the most famous black man in the world. 92 00:05:42.600 --> 00:05:44.560 And what does he do with his fame? What does 93 00:05:44.600 --> 00:05:46.319 he do with his fortune? What does he do with 94 00:05:46.360 --> 00:05:49.600 his publicity? What does he do with his spectacle? He 95 00:05:49.800 --> 00:05:55.120 uses it in service not of himself but of black people. 96 00:05:57.920 --> 00:06:01.120 Think about you know, the celebrities these days, Think about 97 00:06:01.160 --> 00:06:05.160 the famous these days, about the rich these days? How 98 00:06:05.199 --> 00:06:09.439 many of them even come close to being willing to 99 00:06:09.480 --> 00:06:12.839 give all of that up on behalf of black folk. 100 00:06:12.879 --> 00:06:15.920 That's what he told them. He said, take the belt, 101 00:06:16.279 --> 00:06:21.160 He said, I love my people's. That's about as high 102 00:06:21.199 --> 00:06:24.959 as standard as you can get. Ill was himself enough 103 00:06:25.000 --> 00:06:27.240 to tell the truth as a wife doing it. He 104 00:06:27.360 --> 00:06:30.480 wasn't posing, he wasn't pop, didn't have to check with 105 00:06:30.600 --> 00:06:34.079 his agents, he didn't have to sult all of his 106 00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:40.040 various authorities. He's hired. He spoke from his heart mind. 107 00:06:40.480 --> 00:06:44.160 And so he's born the same years RITHA. Franklin and 108 00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:46.759 Curtis Mayfield nineteen forty. 109 00:06:46.439 --> 00:06:49.040 Two, that was a beautiful year. 110 00:06:51.319 --> 00:06:54.759 Two other great genius and giants and free black folk. 111 00:06:55.920 --> 00:06:58.959 Yeah, I love you said. The free is black man. 112 00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:01.519 One of the free is black man of the twentieth century. 113 00:07:02.120 --> 00:07:06.079 And we are lifting up today Muhammad Ali, who was 114 00:07:06.319 --> 00:07:12.079 born as Cashist Marcellus Clay Junior. I love that middle name, Marcellus, 115 00:07:12.480 --> 00:07:12.879 that was. 116 00:07:12.839 --> 00:07:13.639 His birth name. 117 00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:18.800 He converted to Islam, the Black Muslims, to be exact, 118 00:07:19.319 --> 00:07:24.279 under the honorable Elijah Muhammad. He certainly is regarded as 119 00:07:24.319 --> 00:07:27.639 the greatest boxer of all time. The goat. You are 120 00:07:27.720 --> 00:07:30.920 listening to Truth Time with some two goats as well, 121 00:07:31.040 --> 00:07:34.000 and that's doctor Cornell West and myself, if I must 122 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:37.120 say so, myself, Nina Turner. When we come forward, we 123 00:07:37.199 --> 00:07:46.160 will continue our conversation about Muhammad Ali. You are just 124 00:07:46.279 --> 00:07:50.040 adjoining us. You know, today is Thursday. It is our 125 00:07:50.199 --> 00:07:54.480 teach in Thursday day. For doctor West and myself, we 126 00:07:54.560 --> 00:07:58.600 do our level best to bring you personalities and issues 127 00:07:59.480 --> 00:08:01.959 that in the illuminate those issues in a deeper way 128 00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:05.160 than we ordinarily would have the opportunity to do. 129 00:08:05.480 --> 00:08:06.040 Our teacher in. 130 00:08:06.120 --> 00:08:10.199 Thursday days gives us that opportunity to get there and 131 00:08:10.240 --> 00:08:14.240 to go there with you. Today we are lifting up 132 00:08:14.319 --> 00:08:18.839 the life the legacy, the tremendous courage, the earth Shaker 133 00:08:18.959 --> 00:08:23.560 himself none other than Muhammad Ali. Muhammad Ali was born 134 00:08:23.720 --> 00:08:26.240 on January seventeenth, nineteen forty. 135 00:08:25.959 --> 00:08:28.319 Two, in Louisville, Kentucky. 136 00:08:28.879 --> 00:08:30.680 Now, if there are any Kentuckians in there, and I 137 00:08:30.720 --> 00:08:33.720 didn't pronounce Louisville correctly, please forgive me. I had an 138 00:08:33.720 --> 00:08:36.720 aunt who lived in Louisville, Kentucky for a while. So 139 00:08:36.799 --> 00:08:40.240 he was born on January seventeen, nineteen forty two, and 140 00:08:40.320 --> 00:08:44.720 he went to the ancestral plane on June third, twenty sixteen. 141 00:08:45.039 --> 00:08:49.279 He was in Scottsdale, Arizona at the time. But what 142 00:08:49.600 --> 00:08:53.799 Muhammad al Lee was able to do in between that dash, 143 00:08:54.759 --> 00:08:56.840 millions of people will never ever be able to do 144 00:08:56.919 --> 00:09:00.000 if they had a million lifetimes in between that day. 145 00:09:00.799 --> 00:09:05.360 Definitely regarded as the greatest boxer of the twentieth century, 146 00:09:05.720 --> 00:09:09.120 called the Goat. He had bizazz, he has style, he 147 00:09:09.240 --> 00:09:14.919 had skill, he had confidence, but more importantly, he had 148 00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:20.159 a love for his people. Doctor, you think, I don't 149 00:09:20.200 --> 00:09:22.639 know if he ever described himself. You know, we like 150 00:09:22.679 --> 00:09:24.679 to put labels on people, and I understand as human 151 00:09:24.679 --> 00:09:27.919 beings how we got to categorize things. I don't know 152 00:09:27.919 --> 00:09:32.159 if he ever referred to himself as an activist in 153 00:09:32.200 --> 00:09:33.919 the way that we think of it in the twenty 154 00:09:33.919 --> 00:09:34.559 first century. 155 00:09:34.600 --> 00:09:35.799 Your thoughts about that. 156 00:09:36.159 --> 00:09:38.399 That's a wonderful question. You know, we invited into Harvard 157 00:09:38.399 --> 00:09:40.879 and we had a magnificent time when he was there. 158 00:09:40.919 --> 00:09:43.480 He gave a powerful speech, and you know, he put 159 00:09:43.519 --> 00:09:46.320 out two spoken word albums that were Grammy nominations. So 160 00:09:46.440 --> 00:09:52.000 the brother had an oratorical genius that was un And 161 00:09:52.159 --> 00:09:55.159 I never heard him necessarily use that word, but he 162 00:09:55.279 --> 00:10:00.000 certainly viewed himself as part of a tradition. 163 00:10:00.080 --> 00:10:07.440 Of a tradition of political activism, though he wouldn't necessarily 164 00:10:07.519 --> 00:10:13.080 use the word of himself being primarily an activist because 165 00:10:13.120 --> 00:10:15.000 he knew that he was being persecuted. 166 00:10:15.039 --> 00:10:16.879 He knew that they're trying to send him to jail. 167 00:10:16.919 --> 00:10:19.799 He knew they were trying to incarcerate him. Well that 168 00:10:19.960 --> 00:10:22.840 makes you an activist, I mean, it's just just just 169 00:10:22.879 --> 00:10:26.279 no way around it. Uh. And he was willing to 170 00:10:27.039 --> 00:10:29.679 go to jail, and he was willing to articulate and 171 00:10:29.720 --> 00:10:32.519 say quite clearly why he was willing to go to 172 00:10:32.600 --> 00:10:34.440 you know, based on what you know that the deep 173 00:10:34.480 --> 00:10:37.639 love he had for the people and the deep love 174 00:10:37.679 --> 00:10:42.960 he had expressed people all around the world very much. 175 00:10:43.000 --> 00:10:46.639 So, yeah, he was definitely beloved and he was a 176 00:10:46.720 --> 00:10:51.080 sight to see. Could you imagine if social media existed 177 00:10:51.799 --> 00:10:55.279 at the time that Muhammad Ali was at his peak. 178 00:10:55.480 --> 00:10:58.840 I mean, he is just he is just theater. You know, 179 00:10:58.919 --> 00:11:01.320 he's a he's a he's old. When it comes to 180 00:11:01.399 --> 00:11:06.480 that man you're talking about going viral as we described it, 181 00:11:06.519 --> 00:11:09.360 I mean, he wouldn't be. He's not superficial in that 182 00:11:09.759 --> 00:11:12.759 he was doing those things to go viral. But my god, 183 00:11:12.840 --> 00:11:17.759 that personality and that commitment to justice. I don't think 184 00:11:17.799 --> 00:11:20.840 that anybody quite quite like him in that regard in 185 00:11:20.919 --> 00:11:25.360 terms of kind of forecasting out what a Muhammad Ali 186 00:11:25.519 --> 00:11:27.759 type personality would have been able to do with the 187 00:11:27.879 --> 00:11:30.600 tools that we have at our disposal today. 188 00:11:31.159 --> 00:11:33.240 Exactly right. And people got to keep in mind that 189 00:11:33.320 --> 00:11:36.440 he was the most hated black man in America when 190 00:11:36.480 --> 00:11:40.039 he joined the Nation of Islam, and he refused to 191 00:11:40.080 --> 00:11:43.879 fight in Vietnam, and when he gave his critique of 192 00:11:44.480 --> 00:11:49.320 pharmacy and racial segregation and America and apartheid. The risk 193 00:11:49.440 --> 00:11:54.120 that he took was just beyond the scripture and to 194 00:11:54.279 --> 00:11:57.440 go from the most hated black man to at the 195 00:11:57.519 --> 00:12:00.720 end of his life, the most loved black man is 196 00:12:00.840 --> 00:12:08.679 a roller coaster. A roller coaster. Is really quite amazing 197 00:12:08.799 --> 00:12:13.000 how he was able to deal with that kind of 198 00:12:13.440 --> 00:12:15.440 shift taking place in the culture. 199 00:12:16.279 --> 00:12:19.559 And thanks for reminding us of that, doctor West, because 200 00:12:19.600 --> 00:12:21.879 sometimes we get caught up in the allure, in the 201 00:12:21.919 --> 00:12:27.000 final product of the person, but we and I'm including 202 00:12:27.000 --> 00:12:30.840 myself and that as well, don't often talk about what 203 00:12:30.960 --> 00:12:35.519 it took to get there. So, yes, he was considered unpatriotic, 204 00:12:35.799 --> 00:12:39.000 a hater of the country. You know, similar the things 205 00:12:39.000 --> 00:12:42.559 that they said about minister Malcolm X two or Fred 206 00:12:42.679 --> 00:12:48.960 Hampton or anybody that stands up against white supremacy. They 207 00:12:49.000 --> 00:12:52.440 are often labeled and then you get the folks to 208 00:12:52.559 --> 00:12:54.480 start to believe it. You know, Minister Malcolm X had 209 00:12:54.480 --> 00:12:56.120 a quote that said, the media can get you to 210 00:12:56.120 --> 00:12:58.279 love whom they will and hate whom they will. And 211 00:12:58.320 --> 00:13:01.240 you put that propaganda out not only the media, but 212 00:13:01.279 --> 00:13:05.000 you got the federal government itself. You got government working 213 00:13:05.080 --> 00:13:08.919 against these various freedom fighters to whether it's Rosa. 214 00:13:08.720 --> 00:13:10.840 Parks, it's all of them. 215 00:13:10.840 --> 00:13:15.639 Got to some extent, some to higher degree where government, 216 00:13:15.720 --> 00:13:20.120 the United States government was involved infiltrated and trying to 217 00:13:20.240 --> 00:13:25.159 take down black movements that sought to elevate and to 218 00:13:25.320 --> 00:13:30.000 liberate black people, and that is including the Nation of Islam. 219 00:13:30.399 --> 00:13:34.519 They poisoned the well within the Nation of Islam against 220 00:13:34.519 --> 00:13:38.399 Minister Malcolm X. They poisoned the weale. You know, Muhammad 221 00:13:38.399 --> 00:13:41.679 Ali and Minister Malcolm X were really close, and then 222 00:13:41.679 --> 00:13:44.960 they poisoned that well. So now Muhammad Ali is wrestling 223 00:13:45.039 --> 00:13:51.639 with his commitment and love for the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. Rightfully, 224 00:13:51.720 --> 00:13:55.279 so both of these men loved the Honorable Elijah Muhammad 225 00:13:55.600 --> 00:14:00.480 and then their relationship and they broke up that relationlationship 226 00:14:00.600 --> 00:14:04.559 by poisoning the well. And we do forget about that. 227 00:14:04.639 --> 00:14:06.799 Can you just go a little deeper into what I 228 00:14:06.960 --> 00:14:07.600 just laid out. 229 00:14:08.679 --> 00:14:12.279 Yeah, I think what that means that anybody who raises 230 00:14:12.399 --> 00:14:17.559 their voices, any set of people who raises their voices, 231 00:14:18.799 --> 00:14:23.240 are going to be criminalized, are going to be a 232 00:14:23.480 --> 00:14:29.279 subject to character assassination, literal assassination. It was. I mean, 233 00:14:29.360 --> 00:14:34.000 the security around Muhammad Ali was thick, not just under 234 00:14:34.080 --> 00:14:37.639 Nation of Islam, but everywhere he went because he was 235 00:14:37.679 --> 00:14:42.200 such a teller and he was eighth to the powers 236 00:14:42.240 --> 00:14:45.879 that be. Anytime one really speech to Frank's speech or 237 00:14:45.879 --> 00:14:51.600 plain speech, unintimidated speech that he had. You are eighth. 238 00:14:52.559 --> 00:14:56.320 And of course, the mechanisms of repression in which you 239 00:14:56.399 --> 00:15:03.120 have spies and operativism generating internal conflict within black liberation groups. 240 00:15:03.159 --> 00:15:07.840 It could be the Black Panther Party, yeah, legal Revolutionary Workers, 241 00:15:07.840 --> 00:15:14.440 it could be any group that's concerned with black liberation. 242 00:15:14.600 --> 00:15:18.919 You are going to have the FBI infiltrating with black folk, 243 00:15:19.840 --> 00:15:25.120 with black folk paying black folk. Very Oh, that's very 244 00:15:25.240 --> 00:15:29.679 very real. Pharaoh has a whole lot of different strategies 245 00:15:29.720 --> 00:15:33.240 in order to undermine the folk that's trying to engage 246 00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:34.320 in the accidents. 247 00:15:36.159 --> 00:15:38.039 Ooh dot, oh my god. 248 00:15:38.240 --> 00:15:41.519 I think Doctoranahata will be proud because I was whispering 249 00:15:41.559 --> 00:15:43.759 and pointing at you instead of talking, because we cut 250 00:15:43.799 --> 00:15:46.279 each other off because of the system. But you guys, 251 00:15:46.360 --> 00:15:49.159 I just want y'all to know I am a manning 252 00:15:49.879 --> 00:15:53.159 everything that doctor West is saying about that, and so 253 00:15:53.200 --> 00:15:57.720 we got to be cognizant of these variables, these. 254 00:15:57.679 --> 00:15:59.440 Forces that are at work. 255 00:16:00.039 --> 00:16:04.320 Because justice itself, the seeking of it, is never a 256 00:16:04.320 --> 00:16:07.679 straight line. It's never pretty, as a matter of fact, 257 00:16:07.799 --> 00:16:12.919 it's messy, it's bloody. It can depress you, oppress you 258 00:16:13.519 --> 00:16:14.120 like all. 259 00:16:13.960 --> 00:16:14.559 Of those things. 260 00:16:14.600 --> 00:16:17.240 And when we think about the word liberation and we 261 00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:21.320 think about the word justice, certainly we have higher minded thinking. 262 00:16:22.039 --> 00:16:25.159 We think beautiful thoughts about it because we're not thinking 263 00:16:25.200 --> 00:16:28.759 about the journey that it took to get to said 264 00:16:29.240 --> 00:16:32.639 justice place. And then to understand that it is never 265 00:16:32.679 --> 00:16:37.440 a destination, it's a journey because there's always an equal 266 00:16:37.600 --> 00:16:43.399 and opposite force trying to thought that justice that we 267 00:16:43.600 --> 00:16:44.159 just gained. 268 00:16:44.600 --> 00:16:49.679 That's exactly right. That's why we got breakthroughs in backlashes, 269 00:16:49.879 --> 00:16:57.679 breakthroughs Nina Simms broke backlash blues. Lord have mercy. The 270 00:16:57.799 --> 00:17:00.320 Muhammad Ali would have understood that, because we have to 271 00:17:00.320 --> 00:17:04.160 deal breakthroughs in the sixties, the backlashes in the eighties. 272 00:17:04.640 --> 00:17:07.440 And if he were alive today, he would be raising 273 00:17:07.519 --> 00:17:12.119 his voice on television, on social media, his free self, 274 00:17:12.680 --> 00:17:16.240 his loving self, and would be telling some very deep 275 00:17:16.559 --> 00:17:20.240 truths about the gangster activity coming out of the White House. 276 00:17:21.480 --> 00:17:25.440 Nded, we need the spirit of Muhammad Ali at this time. 277 00:17:25.480 --> 00:17:29.319 I want to direct our audience dot to Ali Center 278 00:17:29.400 --> 00:17:33.880 dot org. That's Ali Center dot org. And they've done 279 00:17:33.880 --> 00:17:40.519 a beautiful, beautiful job of elevating on the elevating the 280 00:17:40.599 --> 00:17:45.400 life and the legacy of Muhammad Ali. You can go 281 00:17:45.480 --> 00:17:49.880 to the Ali Center dot org and they have like 282 00:17:49.960 --> 00:17:55.160 these beautiful collage pictures of him as a older man 283 00:17:55.720 --> 00:17:58.599 and under his name he championed the world. 284 00:17:59.039 --> 00:18:00.839 And I just want to read a portion of what. 285 00:18:00.839 --> 00:18:05.279 They have to say about the goats. If courage had 286 00:18:05.319 --> 00:18:09.680 to face, it would be the vestige of a man 287 00:18:09.920 --> 00:18:17.039 in full magnificent, magnificently complicated yet fully evolved, both myth 288 00:18:17.480 --> 00:18:21.359 mythic but real to touch. Courage would look like a 289 00:18:21.400 --> 00:18:27.680 world heavyweight champion, a contentious objector and activist, a diplomat, 290 00:18:28.079 --> 00:18:33.119 and a humanitarian. Courage would be Muhammad Ali. 291 00:18:34.799 --> 00:18:41.480 That's me, That's beauful God that merged. You know, I 292 00:18:41.599 --> 00:18:44.720 was blessed to be thesis adviser Mahamad Ali and son 293 00:18:44.839 --> 00:18:48.480 brother Jacob. Brother Jacob is a brilliant but it looks 294 00:18:48.559 --> 00:18:51.000 just like his grandfather too. And he's got a lot 295 00:18:51.000 --> 00:18:55.079 of integrity, honesty as well as brilliant. And just to 296 00:18:55.200 --> 00:19:02.640 reflecting on his grandfather, that sense of courage, the discipline. First, 297 00:19:02.680 --> 00:19:06.160 just winning the belt, everybody thought he was not gonna lose, 298 00:19:06.200 --> 00:19:09.359 he was gonna get knocked out, not in the next week, 299 00:19:10.079 --> 00:19:14.759 and the listener was knocking folk out daily. How's Muhammad 300 00:19:14.799 --> 00:19:17.599 Ali gonna get in that ring and even survive, let 301 00:19:17.640 --> 00:19:21.720 alone win. And he did it twice. So the level 302 00:19:21.759 --> 00:19:27.519 of sheer athletic excellence. And that's even before he becomes 303 00:19:27.519 --> 00:19:30.920 a more politically activist and so forth. It that we 304 00:19:30.960 --> 00:19:33.680 don't have a language for that level of what the 305 00:19:33.720 --> 00:19:37.359 Greeks called at a tay, which is excellent tied to 306 00:19:37.480 --> 00:19:43.319 the unity of vertu carriage in forty two. I mean, 307 00:19:43.400 --> 00:19:48.359 it's he really is a He's a very special brother. 308 00:19:48.839 --> 00:19:52.920 I was asked to introduce him in Atlanta by Tavis. Actually, 309 00:19:53.039 --> 00:19:56.599 Brother Tabs set up a beautiful event and I was 310 00:19:56.640 --> 00:20:00.680 asked to introduce a lead lord have me. I'm glad 311 00:20:00.680 --> 00:20:02.319 we got a picture of that. My brother was there, 312 00:20:02.359 --> 00:20:05.400 my blood brother Cliff was there too, and I just 313 00:20:06.519 --> 00:20:08.960 I just opened up my heart to that brother and 314 00:20:09.039 --> 00:20:12.799 he gave me the biggest hug. And I shall remember 315 00:20:12.920 --> 00:20:19.279 that as long as I live in Jason time and 316 00:20:20.480 --> 00:20:21.599 tell us repeat a game. 317 00:20:21.640 --> 00:20:22.200 Where were you? 318 00:20:22.720 --> 00:20:25.759 I was down in Atlanta. It was a gathering Brother 319 00:20:25.839 --> 00:20:29.359 Tavis put together. I forget exactly what it was. We 320 00:20:29.359 --> 00:20:34.680 were giving him an award, but I forget exactly what 321 00:20:34.799 --> 00:20:40.119 the event was, but it was the more public time 322 00:20:40.160 --> 00:20:42.119 I met him in the airport. I'd met him in 323 00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:45.559 Harvard when I was an undergrad, but I was much 324 00:20:45.640 --> 00:20:48.160 older now, and I talked about how he was right 325 00:20:48.240 --> 00:20:50.920 about the war, he was right about his critique of 326 00:20:50.920 --> 00:20:53.640 white supremacy. He was right about what it means to 327 00:20:53.640 --> 00:20:58.039 be a black man standing with unbelievable dignity and grace 328 00:20:58.200 --> 00:21:01.920 and style, and being true to yourself and lifting your 329 00:21:02.039 --> 00:21:06.559 voice and not being some cheap echo. And he got 330 00:21:06.599 --> 00:21:10.720 into it. Lord, he got into that introduction. I said, Lord, 331 00:21:10.759 --> 00:21:13.240 the spirit using me in front of my. 332 00:21:14.880 --> 00:21:18.400 Come on, doc, I'm telling you, doctor West, listen for 333 00:21:18.559 --> 00:21:21.160 all our family, everybody out there in the audience, and 334 00:21:21.200 --> 00:21:23.039 our friendemies, our friends and our friendemies. 335 00:21:23.039 --> 00:21:24.599 Doctor, you have some of the best stories. 336 00:21:25.319 --> 00:21:29.720 I can't tell you how blessed I consider myself to 337 00:21:29.799 --> 00:21:32.400 be able to be in this moment in time with 338 00:21:32.519 --> 00:21:35.559 you and just be regaled by the stories that you 339 00:21:36.440 --> 00:21:38.880 have to tell in terms of the experiences and the 340 00:21:38.920 --> 00:21:42.079 places and the spaces that you've been in. And I 341 00:21:42.359 --> 00:21:45.160 hope to be so blessed to be able to share 342 00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:49.799 some of my stories about my time with you to younger, 343 00:21:50.279 --> 00:21:54.119 younger generations. You know, we both were both young adjacent. 344 00:21:54.400 --> 00:21:59.759 I like to call myself younger Jason, and it's just 345 00:21:59.799 --> 00:22:03.359 it's that's a beautiful thing. And you know Ryan helps 346 00:22:03.440 --> 00:22:05.519 us out on these days, and I know for him 347 00:22:05.680 --> 00:22:08.759 is very edified. I'm sure he feels the way that 348 00:22:08.799 --> 00:22:11.400 I feel that I never thought in a million years 349 00:22:11.480 --> 00:22:14.599 somebody that I've admired from Afar for so long and 350 00:22:15.319 --> 00:22:18.240 reading your very first book, Race Matters. 351 00:22:17.880 --> 00:22:19.880 And how gracious you were. 352 00:22:19.920 --> 00:22:21.480 I mean, I tell this story all the time because 353 00:22:21.480 --> 00:22:24.480 that story means more to me, even in you and 354 00:22:24.519 --> 00:22:27.200 I being able to be on the trail together with 355 00:22:27.279 --> 00:22:30.839 Senator Bernie Sanders, but just the first impression and how 356 00:22:30.920 --> 00:22:37.680 humble you've always been, although you are internationally galactically renowned. 357 00:22:37.920 --> 00:22:39.279 That's what I like to call you. 358 00:22:40.279 --> 00:22:43.279 And to know that you're in the space with Muhammad 359 00:22:43.279 --> 00:22:46.559 Ali and you're feeling what I'm feeling about you. It 360 00:22:46.640 --> 00:22:49.519 really is just a beautiful thing. You and Muhammad Ali 361 00:22:49.640 --> 00:22:51.759 are definitely cut from the same cloth. That was a 362 00:22:51.759 --> 00:22:53.680 long way for me to say that part. 363 00:22:55.839 --> 00:22:58.000 What the truth is too, is that the folk who 364 00:22:58.039 --> 00:23:01.960 spend time with you will have all of those stories 365 00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:06.319 about you and your vision, your courage, your brilliant your 366 00:23:06.400 --> 00:23:09.480 sense of sacrifice, your service to the least of these, 367 00:23:09.759 --> 00:23:13.160 your consistency, and in terms of trying to deal with 368 00:23:13.200 --> 00:23:20.640 the absurdity of being black and a Marrick godo. Oh, folks, 369 00:23:20.640 --> 00:23:21.759 gonna have some stories. 370 00:23:26.240 --> 00:23:28.119 Hey, you bringing tears to my eyes here. 371 00:23:28.200 --> 00:23:31.039 Ryan is one of those younger people who he knows 372 00:23:31.119 --> 00:23:34.160 he's been charged. Tim and Tiffany and some others. They 373 00:23:34.200 --> 00:23:38.119 know they must keep our story alive. They must do this. So, 374 00:23:38.839 --> 00:23:41.720 oh my god, speaking of stories, you're listening to Truth 375 00:23:41.759 --> 00:23:44.240 Time with doctor Cornel West and Anina Turner. We are 376 00:23:44.279 --> 00:23:48.519 lifting up the life, the legacy, the earth shaking phenomenon 377 00:23:48.720 --> 00:23:52.960 himself that is none other than Muhammad Ali. When we 378 00:23:53.039 --> 00:23:58.240 come forward, we will continue this riveting discussion, is our teacher. 379 00:23:58.279 --> 00:24:01.799 In Thursday day and today, we are talking about the 380 00:24:01.839 --> 00:24:07.079 greatest of all time himself, the Goat, Muhammad al Lee, 381 00:24:07.559 --> 00:24:11.359 the heavyweight champion of the world, renowned as the greatest 382 00:24:11.519 --> 00:24:14.599 heavyweight champion of the twentieth century. And not only was 383 00:24:14.640 --> 00:24:18.079 he profound in the ring, he was a profound human being, 384 00:24:18.240 --> 00:24:21.160 flawed like the rest of us. Doctor West and I 385 00:24:21.319 --> 00:24:24.720 always bringing that forward about anybody that we're lifting up, 386 00:24:25.160 --> 00:24:28.240 because even people who are on the right mission at 387 00:24:28.240 --> 00:24:31.799 the right time are still flawed, just like we are. 388 00:24:32.079 --> 00:24:37.119 People are flawed. He was magnificent in his love for 389 00:24:37.240 --> 00:24:40.480 black people and his willingness to make a sacrifice and 390 00:24:40.519 --> 00:24:42.480 to speak up and to speak out. And he did 391 00:24:42.559 --> 00:24:47.480 not cower for anybody. And not only did he sacrifice once, 392 00:24:47.480 --> 00:24:49.960 he made those kind of sacrifices that had a ripple 393 00:24:49.960 --> 00:24:52.359 effect to his family. A lot of times when we 394 00:24:52.400 --> 00:24:56.200 talk about the individuals who make the sacrifices, we don't 395 00:24:56.279 --> 00:25:00.400 necessarily recognize that it's not just them, it's every in 396 00:25:00.480 --> 00:25:04.519 their orbit is impacted by the sacrifice that they just 397 00:25:04.680 --> 00:25:06.839 made to stand up for truth and justice. 398 00:25:07.039 --> 00:25:09.759 And so I want to bring forward a quote. 399 00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:15.240 About Muhammad Ali coming from the great comedian activism True 400 00:25:15.240 --> 00:25:20.039 Telling himself, Dick Gregory, and he once said, if people 401 00:25:20.480 --> 00:25:24.079