Source: Chip Somodevilla / Getty
Muhammad Ali Jr., the son of legendary boxer and activist Muhammad Ali, voiced some strange and shocking opinions in regards to the Black Lives Matter movement and the current environment stewed in racism, politics and social constructs.
Ali said that his father would not approve of the movement, calling the resounding mantra “racist,” labeling the protesters as “devils,” on the fourth anniversary of his father’s death.
“Don’t bust up s–t, don’t trash the place,” he told The New York Post. “You can peacefully protest.”
‘‘My father would have said, ‘They ain’t nothing but devils.’ My father said, ‘all lives matter.’ I don’t think he’d agree.”
He specifically called out the BLM movement saying, “I think it’s racist.”
“It’s not just black lives matter, white lives matter, Chinese lives matter, all lives matter, everybody’s life matters. God loves everyone — he never singled anyone out. Killing is wrong no matter who it is,” Ali continued.
“It’s a racial statement,” he said. “It’s pitting black people against everyone else. It starts racial things to happen; I hate that.”
The surprising tidbit of information came from Ali in an hour long interview with the outlet. Ali, who is also a Muslim like his father, was estranged from his family for a large portion of his adult life. He blames Ali’s last wife Lonnie Williams, claiming that she contributed to their breakdown. He is one of Ali’s nine children, and was the fourth born between the boxer and Ali’s first wife Belinda Boyd, who now goes by Khalilah Ali, after converting to Islam.
Ali, who is a Chicago resident, continued to direct his anger towards demonstrators who turned to looting to make their grievances known.
“They’re no different from Muslim terrorists. They should all get what they deserve. They’re f–king up businesses, beating up innocent people in the neighborhood, smashing up police stations and shops. They’re terrorists – they’re terrorizing the community. I agree with the peaceful protests, but the Antifa, they need to kill everyone in that thing.”
“Black Lives Matter is not a peaceful protest. Antifa never wanted it peaceful. I would take them all out.”
Ali, an avid Trump supporter said that he also supports the police, even though it has been painfully evident that reform and restructuring when it comes to how law enforcement interacts with Black communities and those who are protesting in the name of Black Lives Matter.
“Not all the police are bad, there’s just a few. There’s a handful of police that are crooked, they should be locked up,” he said. “I never had a bad scene with a cop. They’ve always been nice and protect me. I don’t have a problem with them.”
While most of us don’t know Muhammad Ali personally, it may be safe to say that he would definitely not agree regarding his son’s stance on the movement. Ali was a complicated man who was not perfect, but he was always putting his livelihood and body on the line to say what needed to be said regarding America’s racist history in public and private spaces. Maybe it’s best that Ali Jr. take a look at his father’s speeches and clips. As his namesake he he has the responsibility to speak factually and accurately, just like his dad would have done.
