He is a part of the children of light
Washington, DC – The National Black Church Initiative (NBCI), a faith-based coalition of 34,000 churches comprised of 15 denominations and 15.7 million African Americans, calls Muhammad Ali a prophet of justice and peace. What we love so much about him was his style and his grace and the fact that he was a part of the children of light that demanded justice from those who will work the darkness of his time and ours. It was that wonderful, soft smile and his handsome face but once that drew you, it was the power of his words that demanded justice not only for himself but also for those of us whose backs are against the wall. We do not believe that many people witnessed the common touch that he had after being accused of refusing to fight what he deemed was an unjust war, and the US Justice Department sought to lock him up and make an example of him. He came out of the courtroom, not somber or defeated, but with a smile on his face and he immediately sought to shake the hands of the white security guards who protected the Justices at the Supreme Court. It was this innocent brace of humanity that we love so much because he realized that those guards were not the enemy, but it was the evil of American Foreign Policy which was the reason why he was about to sacrifice not only his title, but his livelihood. Muhammad Ali was truly a prophet of our times. He did not hold grudges but clearly understood that the prevail of evil was not white people but the sentiments that they held in their hearts.
Rev. Anthony Evans, President of the National Black Church Initiative says, “That the Christian scripture says God has some that he has yet to call. We strongly believe that Mohammad is one of them.”
His love for Malcolm X and the nation of Islam under the honorable Elijah Mohammad again pit him against the majority of the African American Christian community at the height of the Black Power Movement. But, because Black folks loved him and respected his skillset as a boxer and a human being, they were willing to overlook his strange religion and embrace him as one of the heroes of the African American community. This would make him a prophet for his time.
Now in his death, the very government who sought to crush him as a human being and kill his soul is now perpetuating one of the biggest white washes of their love for him. It goes without saying, there is no African American whom we love, who whites have tried to kill, persecute, demean and destroy their sense of dignity and at the time of their death they call him a hero. They have done this to Martin, they have done this to Malcolm and now they’re doing it to Mohammad Ali, but the Black community must say with one loud voice, and be selfish about it, he is our prophet of peace and justice.
