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When We Were Kings: Biographies
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Muhammad Ali (1942 - )
‘And I thought – my Lord, on top of everything, this man is a political leader’
Norman Mailer on Muhammad Ali, 'When We Were Kings'
Muhammad Ali was born on January 18, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky and given the name Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. Even at a young age, his mother commented on him looking like renowned boxer Joe Louis, ‘The Brown Bomber’.
Clay began to box early. Having had his bicycle stolen, a local police officer advised the twelve year old Clay to take boxing lessons. This proved to be the best piece of advice Clay ever received and by 1960 he had amassed 108 wins in amateur boxing with only eight losses. In September of that year, at the age of only 18, Clay won the Olympic gold medal in Rome in the light heavyweight division.
On his return from the Rome Olympics, Clay turned professional, defeating Tunney Hunsaker in his first bout. Although a relative novice to the world of boxing, Clay became well known almost instantly due to his loud persona, which caused him to adopt the nicknames ‘The Louisville Lip’ and ‘Mighty Mouth’.
His record after four years of professional fighting was 19 wins out of 19, which saw him to be granted a world title bout against Sonny Liston in 1964. Despite Clay being very much the underdog, he predicted that he would win the fight in round eight. As it turned out, the fight was over by the start of the seventh, with Liston being unable to come out of his corner. Clay was crowned champion at the age of 22 and announced to the world that he was ‘The Greatest’.
Immediately after the fight, Clay revealed that he was a member of the Nation of Islam, a movement which had gained much publicity during the activities of the Civil Rights Movement. Clay assumed the name Muhammad Ali, and became the Nation of Islam’s most famous member. Prior to the fight with Liston, Malcolm X, the Nation of Islam’s chief spokesperson, had gone to stay at Clay’s training camp. It was here that Malcolm told Clay; ‘This fight is a modern day Crusades – a Christian and a Muslim facing each other’. Malcolm insisted that Allah would not have allowed the fight to take place if he didn’t intend Islam’s champion to win.
Although the many photos taken of Ali and Malcolm X together gave the impression of unity, the two men would soon go their separate ways. When Malcolm X left the Nation of Islam in 1964, Ali felt that he was turning his back on the Honourable Elijah Muhammad. Later, when asked about his feelings for Malcolm X, Ali ridiculed the former Nation of Islam minister and claimed that, ‘Nobody listens to Malcolm any more.’
Muhammad Ali became a controversial figure in 1967, when in the middle of the Vietnam War he refused to be inducted into the American army. His justification for the action being that he was a Muslim minister and thus a conscientious objector. His refusal to fight for America in Vietnam caused his popularity to plummet and saw him stripped of his world title and lose his license to box.
In his absence from the ring, Joe Frazier won the world title. In 1970, Ali was permitted to fight again and within a year he had a title fight with Frazier. It proved to be his first professional loss, as the bout went to the champion on points. Later that year, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned Ali’s conviction for draft evasion.
Two years after losing to Frazier, Ali was granted another attempt at the heavyweight title, this time against the new unbeaten champion, George Foreman. The fight became the most hyped and famous boxing match in history, with each boxer being promised $5million by promoter, Don King. The fight was staged in Zaire and was dubbed ‘The Rumble in the Jungle’. Again, Ali was the underdog, but his ‘rope–a–dope’ strategy tired Foreman out and allowed Ali to land the knock-out punch in the eighth round.
Following his victory in Zaire, Ali defended his title seven times until finally losing it to Leon Spinks in February 1978. Just months later, the two fighters had a rematch which Ali won, regaining the title for a record third time. He retired briefly in 1979, but two comeback losses in the early 1980s caused him to retire for good.
‘As happens with people who love a thing too much, it destroys them’
George Plimpton, sports journalist, 'When We Were Kings'
In 1982, Muhammad Ali was hospitalised for tests, having shown symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. His condition has steadily worsened since then, but he has remained an influential figure to millions, donating much of his time to charity work. He was recently voted Sports Personality of the Century in a BBC poll.
‘People say he is wounded – but it's physical not mental – he doesn’t try to hide it’.
Thomas Hauser – Ali’s biographer, 'When We Were Kings
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George Foreman (1949 - )
‘We’re gonna get it on because we don’t get along. I don’t like the man - he talks too much’.
Muhammad Ali on George Foreman, 'When We Were Kings'
Born in Marshall, Texas in 1949, the taciturn George Foreman went on to become one of America’s most famous heavyweight boxers, successfully winning the World title on two occasions.
Foreman was talent-spotted by boxing instructor Nick Broadus, who taught him to box and put him on a strict training programme. Foreman had his first amateur fight in 1967, which he won with a first round knock-out.
A year later, he successfully won the National Amateur Heavyweight Championship and went on to compete in the 1968 Mexico Olympics, where he won the gold medal. As had happened with Muhammad Ali in the early 1960's, Olympic triumph heralded a professional boxing career for Foreman. This began in 1969 with a third round win over Don Waldhelm.
In 1973, Foreman fought Joe Frazier for the World Heavyweight Championship in Kingston, Jamaica. Foreman won the fight, taking his professional record to 37 consecutive victories. The following year, he defended his title against Joe Roman and Ken Norton.
Foreman eventually lost the heavyweight championship in October 1974 to Muhammad Ali. Staged in Zaire, the fight was the biggest in history. Fight Promoter, Don King, offered Foreman and Ali $5million each for the contest. Both camps were accompanied by a huge media circus as they went to Zaire for the Rumble In The Jungle. George Foreman was the overwhelming favourite, but fell victim to Ali’s ‘rope–a–dope’ tactics. He was eventually knocked out by Ali in the 8th round.
The loss of his title caused Foreman to retire from boxing in 1977, only for him to stage an unexpected and highly successful come back over a decade later. In 1991 - and now in his early 40’s - Foreman challenged the heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, losing on points. His comeback, reached its peak in 1994, when he overcame Michael Moorer to secure the heavyweight title for a second time, at the age of 45. He was later stripped of the title as he refused to fight Moorer in a rematch.
Foreman retired from boxing for a second time in 1995, but had gained huge popularity for the way he had returned to boxing after so long.
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Mobutu Sese Seko (1930 - 1997)
Joseph Desire Mobutu was born in 1930 in Lisala, in the north of the Belgian Congo. The Congo had become a Belgian colony in 1906 and Mobutu joined the Belgian colonial army in 1949, having previously been educated in missionary schools. He was promoted to the rank of Sergeant Major, the highest permitted for Africans.
As the colony approached independence, Mobutu joined the Congolese National Movement led by militant nationalist, Patrice Lumumba. When the country achieved independence in June 1960, Lumumba was made Prime Minister and Mobutu was given the position of army chief of staff by President Joseph Kasavubu.
In the wake of the turmoil which followed independence, Mobutu was given backing by the army to arrest Lumumba, who had been criticised for his relationship with the USSR. In 1961, shortly after his arrest, Lumumba was murdered and power was handed over to Kasavubu.
Mobutu staged a second coup in November 1965 backed by the Congolese army, seizing power from Kasavubu. He declared himself President, abolished the position of prime minister and cancelled the national elections which were due the following year.
Elections eventually took place in 1970. Mobutu’s party, the Popular Movement of the Revolution, were the only runners.
A year after his election win, Mobutu changed his name to Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu wa za Banga, which translated means; 'the all-powerful warrior who, because of his endurance and inflexible will to win, will go from conquest to conquest leaving fire in his wake.’
Mobutu had close links with a number of Western nations and in return for their military support in preventing rebellions in Zaire, Mobutu permitted them to use Zaire as a base for covert operations against communist forces in neighbouring countries. An example of the effect of these relationships came when the American and French military gave Mobutu assistance in suppressing rebellions in 1977 & 1978.
In 1982, Mobutu’s political opponents formed the Union For Democracy and Social Progress. The President responded by harassing and imprisoning the party’s leaders, attracting international criticism. He was re-elected President in 1984 and again in 1991.
Mobutu came under pressure in the early ‘90’s to revise his policies and offer multi-party elections. Despite this challenge, he managed to hold onto power until 1997 when ethnic rebels under the leadership of Laurent Kabila, supported by Rwanda and Angola, captured virtually all of eastern Zaire.
Mobutu relinquished power just days before the rebels captured the capital, Kinshasa in May 1997. Having fled the country he had previously controlled for more than three decades, Mobutu died in exile in September 1997.
useful links
www.easyweb.easynet.co.uk...
Gives a detailed history of the political situation in Zaire over the last forty years.
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Don King (1931 - )
‘He was thoroughly untrustworthy but he made you feel good.’
Norman Mailer on Don King, 'When We Were Kings'
The world’s most famous boxing promoter was born in 1931 in a Cleveland ghetto. Following an early life at the edges of the criminal world, his career as a boxing promoter began in the 1970's.
King’s first major coup came in 1974 when he managed to sign up George Foreman and Muhammad Ali for what would turn out to be the biggest fight in history. At the time, Foreman was the undisputed heavyweight champion, whilst Ali was the people’s favourite. King promised both fighters $5million each which he eventually persuaded President Mobutu of Zaire to put up. The intimidating setting of Zaire’s capital, Kinshasa was a perfect backdrop for the ‘Rumble In The Jungle’, which was won by Ali.
Instantly identifiable by his vertiginous hairstyle, King has promoted over 500 championship fights including a record 47 world championship bouts. When Evander Holyfield fought Mike Tyson for a second time in June 1997, the fight became the most watched one-day sports event in history, seen by over two billion people.
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Spike Lee (1957 - )
One of the most influential black filmmakers, Spike Lee has received both critical and commercial success with his work, produced independently through his own production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks. The name derives from the resources given to slaves being given these resources upon gaining their freedom.
Born in 1957, Shelton Jackson Lee grew up in Brooklyn, New York.
He made 'Joe’s Bed-Stuy Barbershop: We Cut Heads' in 1982 whilst at New York University, which won a student Academy award. In 1986, he wrote, directed, edited and acted in his first feature film, 'She’s Gotta Have It'. Much of Lee’s work attempts to depict honestly the lives of African Americans.
Following his early success, Lee continued to produce controversial yet acclaimed films such as 'School Daze' (1988), 'Do The Right Thing' (1989), 'Mo’ Better Blues' (1990) and 'Malcolm X' (1992). Lee wrote, directed and acted in all of them. His films have dealt with issues such as interracial sexual relationships, black on black violence, relationships between black and white, segregation and integration.
Spike Lee is one of the foremost figures in telling people about African Americans and their role within society. When talking about the making of 'Malcolm X', Lee stated; ‘We felt that we had to do justice to Malcolm’s life – he had many transformations – we had to show how he was constantly evolving himself into what he thought was a better human being.’
His latest film, 'Summer of Sam' (1999) again received critical acclaim.
Recently, Lee publicly announced his dismay at Columbia’s decision to allow Michael Mann to direct a film on the life of Muhammad Ali. He claimed that only a black filmmaker could do the story justice.
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Norman Mailer (1923 - )
A successful novelist, writing amongst other works, 'The Naked & the Dead' (1948), Mailer developed a vivid journalistic style in the 1960’s and began writing extensively for newspapers and journals. As well as writing fiction and more general pieces of journalism, Mailer is also an avid fight fan and has written vast quantities for sports columns. He was at the fight in Kinshasa to cover the event, writing a book about the event (see bibliography) and developed a close relationship with Muhammad Ali over the years.
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Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 - 1968)
‘I have a dream…’
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, King was one of the principal leaders in the American Civil Rights Movement. He was ordained as a Baptist Minister at the age of eighteen and went on to study at Crozer Theological Seminary and Boston University. Whilst studying, King was strongly influenced by the works of Indian Nationalist Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, known as Mahatma Gandhi (1869 – 1948). From Gandhi’s ideas of non-violent protest, King developed his own beliefs.
In 1955, King set up the first black ministry at Montgomery, Alabama and came to national prominence as the leader of the Montgomery bus boycott in 1955. He was a brilliant orator who galvanized the Civil Rights Movement, founding the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957 which advocated non-violence. King was a leading figure in the campaigns for integration and equal rights in America in the late ‘50’s and early ‘60’s.
In March 1963 he led the great march on Washington, where he delivered his most memorable speech, ‘I have a dream...’. In 1964 he received the Nobel Prize for his work in the Civil Rights Movement. As something of a thorn in the side of the US Government, King was the target of intensive investigation by the Federal authorities, chiefly the FBI under the command of J. Edgar Hoover.
Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4th by James Earl Ray. His funeral in Atlanta was attended by 100,000 people.
useful links
www.time.com.
Brief, simple outline of King’s life and work. Includes timeline of major events.
www.seattletimes.nwsource.com...
Profile of Martin Luther King Jr., exploring his influence on the civil rights movement.
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Malcolm X (1925 - 1965)
‘By any means necessary’
Born Malcolm Little, his father was a radical Baptist Minister. Whilst imprisoned for burglary in 1952, Malcolm was converted to the Black Muslim sect, the Nation of Islam led by Elijah Muhammad. This sect, founded in the 1930’s, was fanatically anti-white and isolationist. Its primary objective was to form a black nation in America.
On his release from prison in 1952, he changed his name to Malcolm X to signify his rootlessness in a racist society. Unlike Martin Luther King Jr., he was an opponent of the integrationist movement, pressing for black separatism and advocating the use of violence in self-defence.
However, in 1964 he modified his views and founded the Islamic Socialist Organization of Afro American Unity, preaching racial solidarity. He publicly broke away from the Nation of Islam in that year, himself becoming a victim of violence, assassinated by Black Muslim enemies during a rally in Harlem on February 21 1965.
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