Muhammad Ali was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and he started boxing at the age of 12 after his bicycle was stolen according to Britannica.com.  Ali later won the heavyweight title three times and became the first world heavyweight champion at the age of 22. 

Although Ali is famously known for being one of the best boxers in history, he’s more than that. He was a black, Muslim man in the pre-Civil Rights Era and he went on to be an activist for the rest of his life.  Alis advocacy for racial justice began with his awareness and experience of racism in Louisville, Kentucky. Ali then continued to show bravery and confidence, constantly challenging white supremacy, racism, segregation. Ali was a symbol of Black pride and resistance to white dominance and was a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Ali was daring to go against political policies to help those in need, attending goodwill missions in Afghanistan and North Korea, traveled to Iraq and secured the release of 15 US hostages, delivered medical supplies to Cuba, and traveled to South Africa upon the release of Nelson Mandela on a benevolent mission. 

Ali also refused to join the US army draft to fight in Vietnam because he knew his enemies were not Viet Cong, Chinese or Japanese but rather white people. To remember Ali is to remember who he was, a man that believed he was the greatest at what he did, and in doing so, became an inspiration for generations. 

“My fighting had a purpose. I had to be successful in order to get people to listen to the things I had to say.” Ali said, according to the University of Louisville.