He was a lot of things to a lot of people. In that way, I think he got everything right. “No, (it was) his beauty that beat me”. In Jones’s column, entitled “Meaning of Muhammad Ali”, he brilliantly used Ali’s unmatched skill in the ring as a metaphor to illustrate how Black Americans should address issues that faced their communities.
Advertisement
In August 1990, right after Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Iraq, I was asked to speak about the situation at the annual meeting of a major company, which took place at a room in a restaurant in southwestern MI. It’s not what I know. In his bedroom at his home, Galvan has memorabilia of famous sports legends such as Ali, Joe Frazier, Mike Tyson, Sugar Ray Leonard, Larry Holmes, Evander Holyfield, Stan Musial, Ozzie Smith, Jim Brown and Joe Montana, among others.
The comic’s imitation of an exchange between Ali and broadcaster Howard Cosell, who was often Ali’s foil, was a special moment and stood in contrast to his comments about Ali’s stance against the war in Vietnam. In a statement, Leonard said that he admired, idolized and loved Ali. Just as the rest of the world, I learned to accept and live with a great man, silenced and physically humbled in his prime. “He’d call me, I would try to run him down wherever he be”. I can remember when Larry Holmes demolished him in 1980. Center were wonderful tributes, but the scene on the streets, especially in the West End where Ali grew up, will stick with me forever, people streaming out of their homes and businesses to wave, form a human tunnel, hold up signs, touch the hearse and throw flowers on it, dancing alongside, shadowboxing, crying, smiling, remembering.
The Watergate burglars made their infamous entry on March 8, 1971. However, I must confess that I was conflicted when Ali came back after his exile for draft refusal and was scheduled to fight the “white hope” Jerry Quarry. But while I was wholeheartedly invested in Ali winning, I didn’t want to see Quarry get beaten up or embarrassed. Even though you are not my hero, you did cut a huge swath through American history for the good. Clearly, many in the Richmond community have been touched by The Champ. I assured him that, unlike Vietnam, we would have several allies, including many Arab and Muslim nations; that we would also have U.N. authorization; and that our goal would be limited to evicting Saddam from Kuwait if he did not leave after our military buildup in the area. “Being able to meet him was unbelievable”. Dylan’s music would have prevented future wars, Marley’s would have made peace the law of all humanity.
The world hurts to know that he is gone, as with the passing of all great people.
Not to defend bad behavior, but I can understand someone getting frustrated. In doing so, Ali showed the world how a true champion can stand with courage, self-respect, and dignity.
Since Ali was buried June 10, the Courier-Journal reports that admirers have travelled from as far as Wales to visit the site of his final resting place. “Or should I just close the door and stay safe?” “When I heard that he was going to be in St. Louis, I was working over there and when I found out that he was coming, I said, ‘I’ve got to get a camera'”. She said that Ali “was part of a treasured fraternity, bequeathed to me by my dad”. The times were turbulent, and attitudes slammed into the red on a regular basis. “We gonna rumble, young man, rumble!” “It is far more hard to sacrifice one’s self in search of peace than to take up arms”. It did not consistently refer to him as Muhammad Ali until 1970. It is nearly always a unsafe and grim task to improve human relations, but these stones must be lifted and trudged up the mountain again and again.
Advertisement
THE outpouring of grief over the death of Muhammad Ali, the greatest heavyweight champion of all-time and one who is considered perhaps the greatest boxer of all-time continues as the world begins to grapple with the reality that this giant of a man is no longer with us.
