Muhammad Ali who was born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr (January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer, activist, and philanthropist. Nicknamed “The Greatest”, he is widely regarded as one of the most significant and celebrated sports figures of the 20th century and as one of the greatest boxers of all time.
Mohammed Ali wasn’t just your everyday boxer,he was a black, Muslim, philanthropist in the “pre-civil rights era” and that didn’t make his life any easier.
Ali was once asked why he would not join the us army draft to fight in Vietnam and he said
” My enemy is the white people, not Viet Cong or Chinese or Japanese. You my opposer when I want freedom. You my opposer when I want justice. You my opposer when I want equality. You won’t even stand up for me in America for my religious beliefs—and you want me to go somewhere and fight, but you won’t even stand up for me here at home?”
The biggest point of defiance for Ali was the fact that america never let him feel like he belonged.
Ali was hospitalized in Scottsdale Arizona, on June 2, 2016, with a respiratory illness. Though his condition was initially described as fair, it worsened, and he died the following day at the age of 74 from septic shock
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