Graham_RaceAndSport#.mp3

Muhammad Ali, born Cassius Clay, was a legendary boxer and activist. He won a gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics and went on to have a successful professional boxing career. He converted to Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali. During the Vietnam War, Ali refused to fight, stating that he had no quarrel with the Vietcong and questioned why he should fight when African Americans were being treated unfairly in the US. This caused backlash, but his conviction was later overturned. Ali inspired other athletes and energized the civil rights movement. He is remembered as one of the greatest athletes and a champion for social justice. Hello everyone, I'm Jackson Graham and welcome back to episode 2 of my podcast. For this podcast I'm going to be talking about race and sport and when I was researching topics I wanted to find an iconic figure who changed the sports world forever. And for this episode I'm going to be talking about Muhammad Ali and not only was he one of the best athletes to ever walk this earth but he was a huge activist during his time alive. Born Cassius Clay in Louisville, Kentucky, he was one of six siblings and that's when he decided to start training for boxing at the young age of 12. And by the age of 18 he had already won a gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome in the light heavyweight division. So after his stunning performance at the Olympics, Ali decided to become a professional boxer soon after that. After becoming professional, Ali was a star in the making. He would go on to win all of his first 19 professional fights very easily either by unanimous decision TKO or KO. And he was then faced champion Sonny Liston in 1964 which he won. Then after that fight Ali converted to Islam and he would change his first name Cassius Clay to then now Muhammad Ali. And Ali would remain undefeated in claiming many more world titles until 1967. During the 1960s, the United States was a very rough time for many people. We had the Vietnam War affecting the lives of many Americans so it was hard to think of anything else but also civil rights and social justice was also affecting the lives of every African American in the United States. Muhammad Ali was drafted to fight in the Vietnam War with the United States in 1967 and was called up in 1967. Ali refused to go fight claiming, quote, man, I ain't got no quarrel with them Vietcong. Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights, end quote. So after Ali said this, it began a lot of backlash not only on himself but on the entire African American community. And after going to court, Ali was found guilty of violating Selective Service laws but after taking it to the Supreme Court, his verdict was later overturned. Because of these sort of acts, Ali inspired many African Americans. Other famous athletes backed him during that time like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Russell who are NBA Hall of Famers. Ali was honored with the Martin Luther King Award in 1907. Because of his refusal to fight in the Vietnam War, Ali energized the civil rights movement even more. Many people look at Ali as just one of the greatest athletes and boxers to ever be alive which he probably is. But a lot of people forget how vital he was during the 1960s social justice movement where the African Americans were standing up for themselves. Ali won many awards not only in his boxing career but for his activism as well. And easily he will go down as one of the most influential, brave, and special people to ever roam this planet. So that wraps up episode two of my podcast. Thank you for listening and have a great day.