Freedom Road was a 1979 American TV historical drama mini-series starring boxer Muhammad Ali and Kris Kristofferson, based on the 1944 novel by Howard Fast and directed by Jan Kadar.
[1] Ali plays ex-slave Gideon Jackson, a former Union soldier who returns to his home in South Carolina following the American Civil War and ultimately becomes a U.S. senator.
Kristofferson plays sharecropper Abner Lait, who helps Jackson unite former slaves and white tenant farmers.
[1] The cast also included Barbara O. Jones (as Jackson's wife), Ron O'Neal, Edward Herrmann, John McLiam (as Ulysses S. Grant), Sonny Jim Gaines, Joel Fluellen, Grace Zabriskie and Alfre Woodard.
[3] The St Petersburg Times found that Ali was not entirely convincing but showed potential and that his quiet performance failed to convey Jackson's charisma.