Colin Kaepernick, Khaliah Ali, Jacob Ali-Wertheimer at Harvard University, October 11, 2018 (Ali Family Photo)

Muhammad Ali's Daughter, Khaliah Ali, Available for Interviews

Muhammad Ali Charged with Evading Vietnam War Draft 1967

AP Interviews Khaliah & Jacob Ali-Wertheimer | Riots Coincide with Muhammad Ali's Funeral, Four Years Ago, June 10, 2016 | Bryan@Televisionews.com

PHILADELPHIA, PA, UNITED STATES, June 7, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Khaliah Ali, daughter of three-time heavyweight boxing champion and civil rights activist Muhammad Ali, and her son; his grandson, Jacob Ali-Wertheimer, are available for interviews following their comments published by the Associated Press regarding protests across America and the NFL's apology for ignoring players' concerns about racial injustice.

Khaliah, 46, and Jacob, 21, of suburban Philadelphia, are also available to discuss the family's tradition of human and civil rights activism. They can also provide opinions about the protests ignited by the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

“World’s Greatest” Laid-to-Rest Four Years Ago This Week

Coincidentally, the protests are occurring during the fourth annual observance of Ali’s funeral on June 10, 2016.

Associated Press

AP sports correspondent Rob Maaddi interviewed the Alis a day before NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's announcement that the League officially sides with players involved in peaceful protests.

Kaepernick – Muhammad Ali Comparison

Goodell did not mention former San Francisco 49ers player Colin Kaepernick, however; the lead paragraph of the AP story did.

"When Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem to take a stand against police brutality and racial injustice in 2016, he was mostly alone," wrote Maaddi, who is also a Philadelphia radio host and author.

AP Story Excerpt Below

"Colin Kaepernick Has More Support Now, Still Long Way to Go."

(Click Here: Tampa Times)

“There’s a lot of parallels between Colin and my father,” said Ali’s daughter, Khaliah

“He stands 100 percent with integrity no matter the cost. He made an unwavering commitment for the betterment of his people and took an unapologetic stance against injustice. I have had many people attempt to discourage our support of Colin, which is unthinkable to me. He is a friend to our family, he is loved and honored.”

Jacob Ali-Wertheimer, the 21-year-old grandson of the boxing legend, is a human and civil rights leader on Harvard University’s campus. He is encouraged because more folks support Kaepernick’s movement but realizes there’s a long way to go.

“A lot of people don’t want to address race in this country. We don’t have a real dialogue on the issue,” Ali-Wertheimer said. “It’s something we try to hide and push away, and because we don’t confront it, I think that’s why both of them were ostracized in the beginning, and I think it’s wonderful that people are coming along now to what Colin said.

“But we need to get to a point where people can understand and listen and appreciate his message from the beginning moving forward.”

(AP End)

Understanding Outrage

Khaliah, a board member of the Philadelphia Juvenile Law Center, says she understands outrage over Floyd’s killing.

“Protesters are frustrated by the lack of reform in this nation, which our elected officials have failed to prioritize,” says Ms. Ali, who encourages people to vote and participate in the census.

She points to the past as an example of effective protest.

“In 1967, my father took his fight outside the boxing ring,” she explains. “He used his voice to protest the Vietnam War draft. He prevailed in the U.S. Supreme Court. This is proof that protest creates change.”

Of the violence and looting, Jacob says, “These actions should not distract from the primary mission – to achieve change.”
He emphasizes, ““My generation is frustrated with inaction and millennials are lashing out in anger; believing that this the only method of generating attention and gaining results.”

KPNX, Phoenix

On June 3, Jacob told Emmy Award-winning sportscaster Chierstin Susel of KNPX-TV, NBC, Phoenix, that it is now incumbent upon him to carry-on his grandfather’s fight for political and social change.

(KPNX Segment Click Here)

In 2006, Muhammad Ali and his wife Lonnie moved from Berrien Springs, Michigan to Phoenix. There they helped build the Muhammad Al Parkinson’s Disease Center.

Jacob is a senior at Harvard; majoring in Government and African-American studies.

He told Susel, he plans to apply to law school -- following in the footsteps of his father, Spencer Wertheimer. He is a prominent Center City attorney who has argued civil rights cases in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Past is Prologue

“My father won the Olympic Gold Medal in 1960 and became a global headline; honored by the sporting world,” says Khaliah, but, as the New York Times reported, he was known by whites as, “The Olympic Nigger.”

She continues, “Lore has it, after returning home my father proudly wore his gold medal all the time -- even into a restaurant where he was refused service – a common practice in segregated Kentucky. While walking home; crossing the Second Street Bridge, he was reportedly stopped by police.

Once police drove away -- in disgust; realizing that his Olympic achievement did not provide him the level of respect he hoped for -- my father reportedly threw his gold medal into the Ohio River. That's when my he truly realized the pervasiveness of bigotry."

Name Change

In 1964, then, Cassius Clay, beat champion Sonny Liston for the world heavyweight boxing title.

Ali claimed Cassius Clay was a slave name. He changed it to Muhammad Ali -- a symbol of defiance and membership in the Nation of Islam.

Ali went on to ally himself with such civil right leaders as Malcom X, Martin Luther King, and Jesse Jackson.

Ali would win the world heavyweight title three times.

In 1984, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease.

“Red Bike Moment"

At 12, Cassius Clay’s new red bicycle was stolen. In tears, he reported the theft to white police Sergeant Joe Martin. Ali said he wanted to “whup” the thief.
Martin told Clay to learn how to fight before seeking retaliation.

Martin trained boxers at Louisville’s Police Athletic League.

The next day Ali started training. He spent six years “under Martin’s wing.”

“Had Clay not been a victim of crime; had he not taken the officer’s advice, his life would have taken a different path,” says Khaliah. “This is a story of what our nation must aspire to be.”

BRYAN GLAZER
World Satellite Television News
+1 212-673-4400
email us here

KPNX-TV-NBC-Kahliah Ali & Jacob Ali-Wertheimer