Episode 04: “I’m a Baaad Man!”
Episode Description:
Ali refused the Vietnam War draft as a conscientious objector. For five years he had to wage a battle in U.S. courts to defend his religious freedom. We’ll look at the religious beliefs that informed his position and why Ali’s eventual Supreme Court case helped turn the tide for religious minorities in this country.
People:
Lew Alcindor (referenced, later known as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), author and legendary NBA player.
Muhammad Ali (archival audio), the Champ.
Jim Brown (referenced), legendary NFL player, sports analyst, actor, civil rights activist.
Jonathan Eig, journalist, biographer, and author.
Justice John Marshall Harlan, II (referenced), former Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, lawyer, and jurist.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (archival audio), author, minister, and Civil Rights leader.
Thomas Krattenmaker, lawyer, former law school dean, former clerk to Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan II.
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad (referenced), leader of the Nation of Islam from 1934 - 1975.
Dr. Intisar Rabb, professor of law and history at Harvard University
Bill Russell (referenced), civil rights activist and legendary NBA player.
Imam Dr. Talib M. Shareef, retired Chief Master Sergeant of the United States Air Force and and imam of Masjid Muhammad in Washington, D.C.
Justice Potter Stewart (referenced), former Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, lawyer, and judge.
David Susskind (archival audio), producer and TV talk show host.
Places:
The Houston Military Entrance Processing Station where Muhammad Ali refused to take the step for induction on April 28, 1967. There he also released a written statement after his refusal. It stated, in part, he “would have been untrue to his religion if he had accepted the draft.”
The United States Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C., where the eight justices unanimously overturned Muhammad Ali’s conviction.
The offices of Jim Brown’s Negro Industrial and Economic Union — located in Cleveland, Ohio, on 105-15 Euclid Avenue — where the Cleveland Summit took place on June 4, 1967.
Selected Events:
The Army rejects Muhammad Ali for service on March 20, 1964, almost a month after the Liston fight that made him the Heavyweight Champion of the World.
Ali’s local draft board in Louisville reclassifies Ali’s draft status on March 9, 1966, making him now eligible to fight in the Vietnam War.
Ali writes to the Directors of the Selective Service and requests religious exemption. In that August 23, 1966, letter Ali identifies himself as a "Special Field Minister, the Lost Found Nation of Islam."
During a televised interview in April 1967, Dr. King speaks up for and endorses Ali’s right to conscientious objection.
A Houston jury convicts Ali on June 20, 1967. The judge sentences Ali to the maximum, five years in prison, and fines him $10,000.
Ali appears live via satellite on the Eamonn Andrews Show on January 7, 1968, thinking he will be addressing British viewers. Instead American Television host David Susskind ambushes him. Susskind unleashes on Ali a vitriolic scolding calling Ali a disgrace to his country and his race.
The United States Supreme Court hears arguments for Clay v. United States on April 19, 1971, and decides on June 28, 1971 that Ali’s conviction cannot stand.
In a February 19, 1974, interview, Ali explains to American journalist James Day what went through his mind on the day in 1967 he did not step forward for induction.
Artifacts:
FBI interviews Elijah Muhammad at his home about Muhammad Ali’s religious sincerity.
Justice Harlan writes a memo to Justice Burger about changing his vote on Ali’s case.
Excerpt from Elijah Muhammad’s The Message to the Black Man about the Nation of Islam’s opposition to wars.
