Posted on 02/06/2006 6:53:45 PM PST by ChessExpert
"Muhammad Ali, born Cassius Marcellus Clay in Louisville, Ky., on Jan. 17, 1942, grandson of a slave, began boxing at the age of 12, and, by 18, had fought 108 amateur bouts."
In the very first sentence on Ali's life in her essay, "The Cruelest Sport," noted author Joyce Carol Oates shares with the reader one observation beyond the superficial: Ali was born the "grandson of a slave." Oates apparently sees this as the defining fact of Ali's existence.
More influential than Oates or anyone else in interpreting Ali to the world was sportscaster Howard Cosell. In his 1973 book, "Cosell," he holds back until the second sentence of his 70-page Ali bio before declaring, "He was a descendant of slaves."
We all have grown so used to this shame-on-us school of storytelling that we take it for granted. Today, those who shape our culture – writers, critics, publishers, broadcasters, movie and TV producers – routinely calculate the essence of individuals, especially racial minorities, not as the sum of their blessings, but rather as the sum of their grievances.
In the traditional hero saga, the individual is expected to overcome hardship and injustice. In the grievance narrative, he nurses them like grudges. If they seem inadequate to evoke guilt or anger – the two desired responses from the audience – the narrator reserves the right to embellish or even invent additional offenses.
It was not until the 1960s, with the emergence of paralyzing concepts like "structural poverty" and "institutional racism," that this kind of narrative took root in American popular culture. The earlier postwar years were years of mounting hope. As late as 1961, for instance, Jack Newcombe dared to write a smart, upbeat biography of reigning heavyweight champ Floyd Patterson without ever mentioning Patterson's race or that of his opponents, let alone his descent from slaves.
The heroic possibilities of the grievance narrative did not fully emerge until the latter half of the decade after the death of John Kennedy and the escalation of the war in Vietnam. As told by those who have mythologized the '60s, the youth of America rose up to throw off the shackles of racial paternalism, sexual repression and imperial ambition. In this context, heroism was achieved not so much through individual accomplishment as through individual awareness of grievances and a collective reordering of the society.
Ali came as close to fulfilling this idea of the hero as any public figure of that era. Indeed, as seen through the looking glass of this fabled decade, his life has taken on the quality of myth.
The flame of the '60s burned brightly into the early 1970s, and it continues to illuminate much of what we read and see today. As an example, in his otherwise fair-minded 2001 biopic, "Ali," director Michael Mann shows the viewer a young Ali being shepherded to the back of a segregated bus, learning of the lynching death of Emmett Till, and being casually harassed by the cops during his morning workout – and all of this just under the opening credits.
Oates follows a similar script, rejecting any number of alternate ways to introduce the young Ali. She could have informed the reader that he was the much-loved offspring of two devoted parents, Odessa Grady Clay and Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr., which may explain his confidence. He had a skilled muralist for a father, a mathematician for an uncle, and a math teacher for an aunt, which may account for his creativity and instinctive smarts. As to his drive, that likely derived from his status as the first child in an ambitious African-American household.
Oates chooses instead to introduce Ali the way Malcolm X might have, not as an American, but as a victim of America, the grandson of a slave. This introduction would have made a little more sense if Ali actually were the grandson of a slave, but he is not.
He was also a draft dodger
And the biggest personality the sport has ever seen.
Jack Johnson !
Many people, including Cosell, who was an Ali apologist believed that fight was fixed and Liston took a dive.
I can one-up Ali -- I am descended of people who were fed to the lions by the Romans! :-) That's a lot worse than being a slave.
Because he's the first "black American celebrity" to take a muslim name......I always thought Cassius Clay was cool....go figure.
Not always. In fact, he was despised by most boxing fans from his early 60s fights with up until his win over George Foreman in Zaire in '74. The low point in his popularity came not long after his conversion to Islam during his draft-dodging days. Of course it didn't help that he was a loud-mouthed, obnoxious, braggart who sung the praises of "the honorable Elijah Mohammed" in every other breath, and who ridiculed his opponents mercilessly. In short, he was a-hole of the 1st order.
His upset victory over Foreman in '74 and his courage and post-fight graciousness in his third fight of the Ali-Frazier Trilogy ("The Thrilla in Manila") in '75 helped changed his image somewhat, and when he started exhibiting the symptoms of his disease a few years after he retired he miraculously morphed into a sympathetic figure. ...and an American sports icon.
But not with this boxing fan.
Loved watching journeymen Spinx and Norton knock him on his @ss.
He was also involved in at least one extramarital affair. Kinda like Jesse Jackson and Martin Luther King Jr.
"Liston took a dive."
Not likely since Ali subsequently whupped everybody's butt that followed.
early 60s fights with Liston, that is.
"Loved watching journeymen Spinx and Norton knock him on his @ss."
Like seeing "old men" get beat up huh? LOL
I second that. .....followed by Louis and Marciano.
This is the most accurate statement in this writing! And we, blacks and whites alike, can thank good old Lyndon Johnson for his equal distribution of racism throughout this country that we are experiencing today. A whole lot of thanks obviously has to go to the democratic party for fueling that divide.....
I wouldn't call him a dodger. That conjures images of fat weenie's with bad haircuts, writing lettes of "loathing our military" whilst protesting US Policy on Foreign soil or people running away to Canukistan. Ali at least went to jail for refusing to serve. That places him in a category far above the others that I mentioned, even if they did win the highest elected office in our land. Gimme a Muhammed Ali/Cassius Clay over a Billy Jeff anyday!
Rob
Good brief bio about how many felt about "The Greatest." (phooey)
Frazier beat Ali convincingly in their 1st fight (in '71) and fought him evenly in their third fight (possibly the greatest heavyweight contest in history, imo). Norton beat Ali up pretty bad in two of their fights as well. After that he was well past his prime.
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