In the pantheon of great Americans, Muhammad Ali’s name will forever be etched in stone.
The larger-than-life boxer and activist died at 74 years old June 3 at HonorHealth Scottsdale Osborne Medical Center in Scottsdale, Arizona, due to a respiratory issue.
Born Cassius Clay in Louisville, Kentucky, Ali was one of the most divisive figures of the tumultuous 1960s. He saw his birth name as a reminder of the enslavement of his ancestors and in 1965 he converted to Islam and changed his legal name to Muhammad Ali.
Ali used his unmatched prowess in the boxing ring as a springboard to his activism. He was arrested and stripped of his boxing titles in 1966 for evading military service he believed immoral due to his Muslim faith. His bold and unabashed refusal to serve made him an icon among members of the late 1960’s counterculture.
There was Janis Joplin and Woodstock and then there was Muhammad Ali.
Following the 1960 Rome Olympics, Ali claimed to have thrown his gold medal into the Ohio River after being refused service at a whites-only restaurant.
Ali’s unbridled, hold-no-punches spirit showed in the boxing ring. He famously proclaimed himself the “greatest of all time” and amassed a career record of 55 wins and five losses.
There’s something about the way Ali carried himself that was truly American, more American than bald eagles and rock ’n’ roll music. His refusal to fight in the Vietnam War on the grounds that “(he) ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong” called attention to the egregious injustices that existed at home while the United States simultaneously carried out a war in the name of perceived justice.
Growing up in the Jim Crow South, nothing was ever given to Ali. It wasn’t until his bicycle was stolen as a child that he decided to take up boxing. He joined the Nation of Islam early in his career, which was enough to scare the white establishment of the era.
His close friend, NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar reflected on Ali’s life and impact. “At a time when blacks who spoke up about injustice were labeled uppity and often arrested under one pretext or another, Muhammad willingly sacrificed the best years of his career to stand tall and fight for what he believed was right,” he said.
Like any figure we might consider an American hero, Ali made plenty of enemies during the course of his career. Ironically, one of them was the U.S. government: he was targeted and surveilled in top-secret NSA and FBI operations. Still, he fearlessly said things that desperately needed to be said.
Ali’s activism might seem ordinary in today’s context, but Abdul-Jabbar is right in pointing out, in the ‘60s, his outspokenness was truly incendiary. Ali’s tireless crusade against racial injustice influenced the social movements we see today. Black Lives Matter would not exist in its present form without Ali.
Though he was only an athlete, Ali’s effect on American culture was enormous. He embodied the spirit of American exceptionalism with his “I am the greatest” attitude.
Many saw his braggadocious ego as overkill, but it was perfectly apt. Ali really was the greatest.
dkilcull@umail.iu.edu
@daniel_kilc
