Muhammad Ali

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Keith

Before the Foley fight, Ali had received word that he had been drafted and would have to report for induction the following month. While his lawyers prepared to challenge the draft order, Ali met privately with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Louisville. King was in town to protest the city's segregated housing. Though the two men differed about Black separatism, they found common ground in their views on the war in Vietnam. What did you discuss back in the hotel room? Nothing, just friends, just like Khrushchev and Kennedy and everybody. People, all of the politicians of all other white races come together, and they, although they believe differently, think different, whites can come together and discuss the common cause, but whenever a few of us come together, the world is shook up, and I would say whatever went back there is our business. Reverend King, do you agree? Oh yes. Yes. We had a very good discussion on many matters, and of course these are not things that we would discuss here, but we do have common problems and common concerns. And above all, as Muhammad Ali has just said, we are all victims of the same system of oppression. And even though we may have different religious beliefs, this does not at all bring about a difference in terms of our concerns. - Still brothers, still brothers. - Do you share the same, one more question. Do you share the same concern that Muhammad has for his draft status? Oh, I certainly do. My views on the draft are very clear, I'm against it. And I think the sooner our country does away with the draft, the better it will be for everybody. (people chanting) -

Keith

In April of 1967, hundreds of thousands of anti-war protestors marched in New York City, but most Americans still supported the war, and criticizing US policy on Vietnam remained politically treacherous, especially for African Americans. Meanwhile, Muhammad Ali's lawyers had delayed his induction date by claiming the boxer resided in Houston, where he had trained for his recent fights. Now, a new order required him to report to local draft board number 47 in Houston

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30 a.m. on April 28th. Before he left Louisville, Ali gave a press conference, explaining his position and his plans. Why should me and other so-called Negroes go 10,000 miles away from home here in America to drop bombs and bullets on other innocent brown people who's never bothered us? And I will say directly, no, I will not go 10,000 miles to help kill innocent people. -

Keith

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Five days later, Muhammad Ali, flanked by his lawyers, arrived at the old Post Office building in Houston. Inside, as Ali underwent his physical, he joked with his fellow recruits, demonstrating the Ali shuffle in his underwear. Then, at the induction ceremony, Ali refused to step forward when his name was called. A Navy lieutenant explained the penalty, should he be found guilty of refusing induction. A $10,000 fine and up to five years in prison. Given another chance to step forward, Ali refused again. Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Muhammad Ali has just refused to be inducted into the United States armed forces. -

Keith

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The reaction was swift and severe. Within hours, the chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission denounced his conduct as detrimental to the interests of boxing, stripping him of his license to fight in New York. Almost every other boxing commission in the United States followed suit. The World Boxing Association took away Ali's title for a second time. Well, at the time I was in the service, and one would think that I would think of him as a traitor, someone who didn't want to do what I'm doing, you know, but I was all for it. And I found that many of the Black servicemen were all for it as well. (machine guns firing) They appreciated him speaking up, because at the time, there was a lot of dissent among African American servicemen. This was the Vietnam era, a lot of Black men were being killed. They were thinking of themselves as cannon fodder. And I met some of the most radical figures I've ever met in the ranks of the Air Force and the Army. So we appreciated him speaking out and saying things like that. As much as I think everybody should pull their tour, I think they are overemphasizing the need to bring Cassius Clay up to the service if he professes to be a Muslim minister. His religious beliefs are his own. This country was set up on the basic concept of religious freedom or freedom of expression. I don't believe that he should be persecuted or ridiculed because of his beliefs. Simply because Muhammad Ali has these beliefs is no reason why people should go against him. I think he is a great champion, and they should respect his beliefs. That's why I'm here right now. -

Reporter

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Do you think that they're being unnecessarily harsh on him? I think they are. Everybody knew that if he had been drafted into the Army, he would, like Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey, and every other boxer, he'd give shows. He'd go and shake hands. He'd be in charge of morale. He wasn't gonna be fighting the Viet Cong. And he knew that, everybody knew that. So what he was giving up had to be for principle, couldn't be for fear.