The Pittsburgh Courier’s Eric Springer viewed Clay as a new kind of black cultural hero, a symbol “of the change that is occurring in our youth,” an emblem of racial pride and boundless confidence. In the past, black heroes had been expected to act inconspicuously, humble and deferential to whites. But Clay ushered in a new age when black youths agitated for change, unafraid of testing the limits of white acceptance. Springer compared him to the courageous black teens who endured daily abuse when they entered Central High School in Little Rock and the brave black college students desegregating southern universities, like James Meredith at Ole Miss.9
The moment blacks began embracing Cassius as the personification of youth activism and the struggle for integration, he shed any responsibility for being a leader of his race. “I’m no James Meredith,” he told the New York Post’s Pete Hamill. “He’s got more guts than I’ll ever have.” Clay had no interest in meeting him or following his example.10
He stunned readers when he announced that he did not believe in racial integration. “I believe it’s human nature to be with your own kind,” he declared. “I know what restrooms to use, where to eat, and what to say. I don’t want people who don’t want me. I don’t like people who cause trouble. I’m not going out there to rile up a lot of people.” The civil rights movement, he said, was not like a boxing match. “There’s no referee in the street.”11
Only a few days after he told a black reporter that he would raise money for the NAACP, and after further consultation with Malcolm, he denounced the organization’s goals. “I’m a fighter,” he claimed, sounding like he had just left Malcolm’s mosque in Harlem. “I believe in the eye-for-an-eye business. I’m no cheek-turner. The NAACP can say, ‘turn the other cheek,’ but the NAACP is ignorant.” Then he added a final point, ripped from the rich language of his new teacher: “You kill my dog, you better hide your cat.”12
For the first time Cassius found himself at the center of a political controversy. When he attacked the NAACP, many blacks hoped that this was just another publicity stunt, but Clay was not performing the role of the self-created villain. His comments provoked fear that one of the most famous black athletes in the country had forsaken the ideals of integration and embraced the separatist ideology of the Nation, an unsettling thought for those who had built him up as a hero. While most New York newspapers did not cover the controversy due to the labor strike, rumors spread throughout the black press that Cassius had spent time with the Black Muslims, though no reporter confirmed his visit with Malcolm after the Jones fight.13
In Louisville, Clay’s white sponsors worried that he had made a grave mistake, alienating much of the country and one of the most respected civil rights organizations in America. Dr. Maurice Rabb, an executive with the NAACP’s Louisville branch, contacted the national office, informing them that Cassius had been “thoroughly exposed to the teachings of Elijah Muhammad.” He reported that Clay “sneered at the fact that a Jew is the National President of the NAACP,” a questionable accusation given Clay’s unsophisticated knowledge about the group’s leadership.14
The Louisville Sponsoring Group’s director, Bill Faversham, arranged for Clay to apologize to Rabb and other local civil rights leaders. Accompanied to the meeting by his brother Rudy and his chauffeur, Cassius denied his verbal assault on the NAACP, but when Rabb invited him to show his support for the organization by purchasing a lifetime membership, he said that the only way that he would join was if they paid him $250,000. Clay left the appointment promising that he would attend the branch banquet and “take a bow” if he was in town.15
After the meeting, the controversy faded from the pages of the black press, though Faversham remained concerned about Clay’s increasingly defiant behavior. He told Rabb that if the NAACP wanted to influence the boxer, they might try reaching out to Jackie Robinson or Sugar Ray Robinson, two black athletes Cassius greatly admired. But, he advised, don’t bet on him listening to them either, because “CASSIUS makes all decisions concerning CASSIUS.”16
Faversham suspected that Clay had ties to the Black Muslims. Someone must have been advising him and confusing him, he thought, filling his head with dangerous ideas. What he did not know was that Clay was listening to a new mentor who did not trust whites, the NAACP, or Jackie Robinson. This man taught Clay that he was special not in spite of his skin color but because he was black, an empowering message that awakened his political consciousness. For the first time in his life, Cassius said, “I feel free since I learned the truth about myself and my people.”17