The Brotherhood Between Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali

malcolm x and muhammad ali looking at each other
Adé Hennis
December 21, 2024

Cassius Clay attended a speech by Malcolm X in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, in 1962. “How could a black man talk about the government and white people and act so bold and not be shot at?” he marveled. For his part, Malcolm X was impressed by the charismatic young boxer who would soon become Muhammad Ali.

One might assume that the two men became friends just because they were both members of the Nation of Islam, but their bond was stronger than their shared faith.

Malcolm X supported Ali in his boxing career and even got him a personal manager. But the activist wasn’t helping Ali just because he knew that Ali could attract new members to the Nation of Islam. According to Malcolm X’s daughter Ilyasah Shabazz,  Malcolm loved Muhammad Ali like a brother.

When Malcolm X left the Nation of Islam, dismayed by the misconduct of its leader, Elijah Muhammad, Ali ended their friendship. But as Ali wrote in his 2005 memoir, he regretted how their relationship ended, and that he had never told Malcolm what he meant to him.

For the rest of his life, Ali carried that spirit of resistance, speaking out against injustice wherever he saw it. Their friendship, even though it didn’t last, proves that we can walk together to Black liberation regardless of our differences.

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