Muhammad Ali's 'fatal friendship' with Malcolm X

Thousands of people lined streets of Louisville, Kentucky on Friday, throwing flowers and snapping pictures,  as the hearse carrying the body of Muhammad Ali drove past.

Ali died on June 3 at his home in Arizona at 74 years old. He was suffering from Parkinson's disease and had been in failing health for years. Still, the news of his death came as a shock and elicited memories of his more than 50 years in the public eye.

At the height of his popularity, Ali was the most famous person on earth and also one of the most complicated. He burst onto the scene as the youngest champion of all time and charmed the boxing world with his affable clown-poet routine. But after aligning himself with Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam, Ali also emerged as an important voice on race, religion and politics.

A new book, Blood Brothers: The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X explores the relationship between the two men and how Ali's move away from Malcolm X helped seal his fate.

Co-author Johnny Smith, a historian at Georgia Tech, tells Day 6 host Brent Bambury, Muhammad Ali would not have become the man we know if not for his friendship with Malcolm X.

Giving Ali his voice

Cassius Clay was a spiritual man but he kept his faith to himself. He knew the sporting world wouldn't know how to react to news that this rising young star was a member of the Nation of Islam. So he stayed quiet right up until 1964 when Clay beat Sonny Liston.

The world was still processing the upset when Clay shocked them again. He announced that he was indeed a member and he was ready to take on a role.

"Malcolm gave him a voice to be more assertive, a voice to be more free with who he wanted to be in front of the public; that he didn't have to hide his true feelings about politics, race and religion. He could be a Muslim and assert his religious independence," Smith says.

Smith says Malcolm X recognized that he had an undefined racial pride, that he was charismatic and he had an energy to pull people in. Smith says Malcolm X realized there was untapped potential for Cassius X be a unifying force for black nationalism.

Malcolm X helped cultivate Clay's confidence outside of the boxing arena. He was in Clay's corner the night of the Sonny Liston fight and he would be in his corner again when Cassius abdicated his last name in favour of becoming Cassius X.
 

The hidden sides of Mohammad Ali

As Cassius X, he was telling the world that he was a loyal follower of Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam. And as Johnny Smith says, he was also taking on some of the characteristics of his friend Malcolm X.

"He said I don't believe in integration, I don't believe in nonviolence and I don't believe in turning the other cheek. So Cassius X, the face that he wore, that mask that he wore between being Cassius Clay and Muhammad Ali, was really important to the way America saw this changing sports figure".
 

Having a world-renowned champion boxer who was growing more comfortable in his role as the voice of a movement was a boon for Elijah Muhammad and he made sure Cassius X knew it.

Brothers no more

On March 6, 1964 Elijah Muhammad went live on the radio to rename Cassius X as Muhammad Ali, a rare gesture that carries great honour inside the Nation of Islam. Case in point, Elijah Muhammad had not bestowed Malcolm X with his 'original name' despite his standing in the religion.

Malcolm X knew it was a political move aimed at driving a wedge between him and Ali but as Smith points out, there were other issues at play.

"Elijah Muhammad gave strict orders for his ministers to stand down, to cause no trouble and attract no unwanted attention". This came at a time when the F.B.I. already had informants inside the Nation of Islam's mosques.

"But Malcolm [X] felt he couldn't abide by this demand. He thought the Nation of Islam should be more engaged and more active in the civil rights movement."

There's a story in Smith and Randy Roberts' book about Malcolm X walking through Harlem and how people pleaded with him to do more. They called out Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam for talking big but doing little.

Smith says Malcolm X felt that he had to rise up as his rhetoric was growing ever more violent.

"He was saying things like I believe in defending black people by any means necessary and if we need to protect ourselves with guns then we must do so."

Smith says Muhammad Ali heard Malcolm X talk like this before but he thought they were just words. When pushed, Ali was extremely uncomfortable with this level of violence.

How much did Ali know?

Malcolm X's ideology clashed with the Nation of Islam. He knew a split was coming and it wasn't just the religion.  

In 1964 and into early 1965, Muhammad Ali started echoing the confrontational tone the Nation of Islam was directing towards Malcolm X.

Smith says Malcolm X's stance made him a traitor to their movement and turning his back on the brotherhood meant he would have to be eliminated.

"He knew the secrets inside the Nation of Islam. He knew about Elijah's affairs. He knew about the financial corruption where the members' donations were basically financing a luxurious life for Elijah and his family and he knew about corporal punishment. He was seen as a threat to the entire movement so there were members who said he was a traitor and he had to die."

Smith says Malcolm X's strategy was to spend as much time as he could with Muhammad Ali. He wanted to show Elijah Muhammad and the other members of the Nation of Islam that they were as close as brothers.

But beyond friendship, Ali served as Malcolm X's shield.  "He thought as long as Ali was close to him he would be safe. No one would try to attack him," Smith says. "But that relationship couldn't last so Malcolm became  even more vulnerable after Ali rejected the friendship".

Smith says even Muhammad Ali, Malcolm's friend, said he crossed Allah's messenger and they had to deal with him.

Muhammad reaches out

Malcolm X was shot and killed by Nation of Islam members on February 21, 1965, one week after his house had been firebombed.

Smith says it's unlikely Ali knew how much danger Malcolm X was in and he doubts Ali fully sided with Elijah Muhammad.

"The thing we have to remember," Smith says, "is that when Ali sided with the Nation of Islam, he could not show any remorse for Malcolm X; he could not show any warmth because if he did it would have caused them to doubt his loyalty to them."

Muhammad Ali stayed quiet for more than 36 years and when he finally reached out, it happened on the set of the film Ali, about his life.  

Attallah Shabazz, Malcolm's daughter, was serving as a consultant on the film.  When Ali saw her he walked over, extended a hand and told her he hoped her father knew how much he loved him.

"I think it's important to understand that - as ugly as Ali may have been toward Malcolm - he evolved. His views about politics and violence and religion evolved when he became a Sunni Muslim and later a Sufi Muslim and I think he carried that regret."