Muhammad Ali

Muhammad Ali, born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr, rose from a poor family in segregated Louisville, Kentucky to international fame, winning three heavyweight ...

I’m wondering, in your research and in the discussions that you have in class, why do you think he was able to have such a big impact in the world? And this is what Ali eventually chose, and he wanted to be called that for the rest of his life. I mean, clearly at that point in his life, he was universally idolized and adored, and that really is a remarkable achievement for anybody. He had spent his whole life trying to get to this point in his career, and he decided that this was going to be the end of it. And he decided he was not going to be part of that. And he said he just couldn’t wait to get home, get in his bike, and get back to the gym. He was now going to spend the rest of his life pursuing racial justice, really trying to take this newfound fame and turn it to the advantage, not only for himself, but for others. He comes away with a gold medal, and you would think that he’s well on his way to getting the kind of acknowledgement and respect that he so desires to have. I thought one of the interesting insights that came out of the case was this thing that almost hampered his ability to achieve the greatness that he achieved. And that worked and that became his signature and the thing that people equate with him in the ring. And to give you a little bit of color to this, what he would do every day is he would stand with his friends at the bus stop and his friends would get on the bus, and as soon as the bus started off, then he would bend down and race to the school trying to beat the bus to the school by running. And he would do this until he had completely tired them out, and then he would move in for the kill.