Why Is Muhammad Ali Important

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“Muhammad Ali”

Muhammad Ali is arguably the greatest fighter ever known, but what also made him great were the battles he had been in throughout his life as well as standing up for his beliefs, standing up for the African American community and fighting Parkinsons disease.

Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., known as Muhammad Ali, was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on January 17, 1942. Growing up in the segregated south he experienced racial discrimination and prejudice firsthand. Ali’s father, Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr., supported a wife and two sons by painting billboards and signs. Ali’s mother, Odessa Grady Clay, worked on occasion as a household domestic. (“The Importance of Muhammad Ali”)

“I remember one time when Cassius was
In one of his more famously quoted descriptions, Ali told reporters that he could "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" in the boxing ring. A few days later, he shocked the world again by announcing that he had accepted the teachings of a black separatist religion known as the Nation of Islam. On March 6, 1964, he took the name “Muhammad Ali,” which was given to him by his spiritual mentor, Elijah Muhammad. (Muhammad Ali Bio)

For the next three years, Ali dominated boxing as thoroughly as any fighter he truly dominated in the ring and was incredible. Outside the ring, his persona was evolving in ways that were even more important. “My first impression of Cassius Clay,” author Alex Haley later recalled, “was of someone with an incredibly versatile personality. You never knew quite where he was in psychic posture. But he had a belief in himself and convictions far stronger than anybody dreamed he would.” As the 1960s grew more intense, Ali became a powerhouse in America. His message of black pride and resistance to white domination was on the cutting edge of the era. Not
During his retirement Ali became a philanthropist. In 1984 he discovered that he was diagnosed with Parkinsons, a degenerative neurological condition, but even though he was battling this condition he was involved in raising money for the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center in Phoenix, Arizona. For the years, Ali has supported the Special Olympics and the Make-A-Wish Foundation, among other organizations. In 1996, he lit the Olympic cauldron at the Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, an emotional moment in sports history, this was truly a special moment in history. In his retirement Ali traveled to numerous countries, including Mexico and Morocco, to help those in need. In 1998, he was chosen to be a United Nations Messenger of Peace because of his work in developing nations which is a high honor. In 2005, Ali received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President George W. Bush. He also opened the Muhammad Ali Center in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, that same year and it is in use to help the community, education, and also to display Ali’s career. "I am an ordinary man who worked hard to develop the talent I was given," he said. "Many fans wanted to build a museum to acknowledge my achievements. I wanted more than a building to house my memorabilia. I wanted a place that would inspire people to be the best that they could be at whatever they chose to do, and to encourage them to be respectful of one

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