World reflects on the legacy, passing of Muhammad Ali
15th June 2016 · 0 Comments
It’s been decades since boxing great Muhammad Ali stepped into the ring to either defend or regain a title, but you wouldn’t know it from the outpouring of admiration and deference from millions around the world who were moved by the legendary athlete who many say transcended professional sports and championed human rights, justice and democracy.
Ali, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease more than 30 years ago, passed away on Friday evening, June 3, at the age of 74.
Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. was born in Louisville, Kentucky on January 17, 1942 into a family of hard-working Blacks who traced their ancestry all the way back to 19th-century congressman and secretary of state Henry Clay and abolitionist Cassius Marcellus Clay.
Young Cassius’ boxing career began at the tender age of 12 after his new bicycle was fatefully stolen. After reporting the crime to a cop named Joe Martin who owned and ran a boxing gym, Cassius bragged about what he would to the bike thief when he caught up with him. Martin advised him to first learn to use his fists before seeking to avenge his stolen bike.
Those who knew him say that Cassius took to boxing like a fish to water, adding that he quickly fell in love with the sport and dedicated himself to being the best he could be in the ring.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Cassius Clay, who was reportedly afraid of flying, somehow managed to overcome that fear and traveled to Rome, Italy in 1960 to capture a gold medal at the Summer Olympics.
Although some reports say Cassius Clay was an academic underachiever who struggled with reading, that did not prevent him from displaying a brilliant mind and indomitable spirit that could not be denied.
A recent article published by The Root noted that when Ali first jointed the Nation of Islam he was known as “Cassius X.” But after his friend and mentor Malcolm X parted ways with the Nation of Islam and the Hon. Elijah Muhammad, Cassius X took on a new name that demonstrated and confirmed his allegiance to the Nation of Islam and Elijah Muhammad.
Even though Ali joined the Nation of Islam in 1964 and changed his name to Muhammad Ali in March of that year, The New York Times reportedly refused to refer to him as anything other than Cassius Clay until 1970.
The three-time World Heavyweight Boxing Champ made a career out of outfoxing, outworking and outlasting his athletic opponents as well as getting into their heads before the fights even started. Many of the phrases he used to describe his fighting style — including ‘float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” — have stood the test of time. Even his epic boxing contests had memorable names like ‘The Thrilla in Manila” and the “Rumble in the Jungle,” which was the focus of the silver-screen film “When We Were Kings.”
Ali famously once boasted that he was “so mean I made medicine sick.”
When boxer Ernie Terrell refused to say his name, Ali made him pay dearly during a Feb. 1967 bout. In audition to punishing Terrell in the ring, Ali taunted him and screamed out “Uncle Tom! What’s my name?”
Although he never mastered reading and later admitted that he had only read certain parts of the Quran and that he had never read a book — even the ones for which he collaborated with writers to complete — the legendary boxing champion’s language skills and ability to captivate the world with his gift of gab were off the charts.
It was clear to all who observed him that Muhammad Ali was not a victim of low self-esteem and that he proved to be fearless in and out of the ring.
During an interview with sports journalist Ernie Terrell, who continued to call Ali Cassius Clay, Ali, who joined the Lost Found Nation of Islam while still in his prime and changed his “slave” name, told him, “My name is Muhammad Ali, and you will announce it right there in the center of that ring” before slapping Terrell in the face.
The boxer did not hesitate to take a stand for what he believed in, refusing to enter the U.S. draft during the Vietnam War. The quick-witted boxing star proved to be a quick study who famously told reporters who asked him about the Vietnam War, “Shoot them for what? They never called me nigger. They never lynched me.”
He did not back down from that political stance even after it prevented him from boxing for three years and cost him millions of dollars.
“He lived a lot of lives for a lot of people,” comedian and civil rights activist Dick Gregory told The New York Times last week. “He was able to tell white folks for us to go to hell.”
With an unlimited reservoir of swag, discipline and brash confidence, Ali managed to win 56 fights and lose five over the course of 21 careers.
The Ali mystique made its way to New Orleans in 1978 when he defeated Heavyweight champion Leon Spinks in the Louisiana Superdome before a crowd of 70,000 that included everyone from nuns to members of motorcycle gangs, dignitaries and everyday people.
While Ali’s bluntness and in-your-face antics made him both a rock star to many and a threat to some, the charismatic figure never stopped speaking his mind or standing up for justice, equity and human rights.
In 1991, on the eve of the first Gulf War, Ali traveled to Iraq to negotiate for the release of 15 American hostages. In 1996 he lit the Olympic flame at the Atlanta Summer Games, a tense but ultimately triumphant and iconic moment as worldwide audiences watched him tremble with the debilitating effects of Parkinson’s disease. President George W. Bush honored Ali in 2005 with the nation’s two highest civilian honors, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Presidential Citizens Medal. The battles he’d waged in and out of the ring, the hatred he’d engendered for his political beliefs, finally gave way to near-universal adulation. “I wish people would love everybody else the way they love me,” Ali once said. “It would be a better world.”
Although he battled Parkinson’s disease for more than three decades. Ali never wavered in his commitment to promoting justice, democracy and human rights/
When GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump used several high-profile terrorist attacks to ban all Muslims from entering the U.S., Ali issued the following statement:
“I am a Muslim and there is nothing Islamic about killing innocent people in Paris, San Bernardino, or anywhere else in the world. True Muslims know that the ruthless violence of so-called Islamic jihadists goes against the very tenets of our religion.
“We as Muslims have to stand up to those who use Islam to advance their own personal agenda,” Ali continued. “They have alienated many from learning about Islam. True Muslims know or should know that it goes against our religion to try and force Islam on anybody.
“Speaking as someone who has never been accused of political correctness, I believe that our political leaders should use their position to bring understanding about the religion of Islam and clarify that these misguided murderers have perverted people’s views on what Islam really is.”
“Today my heart goes out to a pioneer, a true legend, and a hero by all means!” boxing champ Floyd Mayweather wrote after hearing of Ali’s passing. “Not a day went by entering the gym that I didn’t think of you. Your charisma, your charm and above all, your class are all of the elements that will be greatly missed by myself and the world. You are someone that inspired me greatly throughout my boxing journey and words cannot express how great you were as a person! Thank you for everything you’ve done for Black America, in the the world of sports & entertainment and for the legacy you leave behind! My sincerest condolences to the Ali family!”
Award-winning actor Billy Crystal called Ali “the greatest man I have ever known” and actress Viola Davis posted a statement that said “Muhammad Ali. You were the greatest. Thanks for giving me strength and a love of self when I couldn’t muster it. RIP.”
“God came for his champion,” former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson said. “So long great one.”
This article originally published in the June 13, 2016 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
