Boxing great Muhammad Ali is dead at the age of 74.
Ali died Friday at a Phoenix-area hospital. He was there after spending a few days under care for respiratory complications.
Ali is best known for being “The Greatest of All Time” in the boxing ring, a wordsmith outside of the ring, and beloved for his fearless civil rights work.
Most notable in the American conciousness was his conversion to Islam in the early 1960s. At the time, “Cassius Clay” was a heavyweight champion and boxing sensation. His transition to being “Muhammad Ali” was seen as an act of militancy during an era when Malcolm X’s message of Black power was placed in opposition to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s calls for peace. Ali’s decision to join the Nation of Islam and change his name won him fans and foes.
Ali also found himself in the headlines when he refused to serve in the Vietnam War after being drafted by the U.S. Army in 1967. In an interview at the time, he said, “My conscience won’t let me go shoot my brother, or some darker people, some poor, hungry people in the mud, for big powerful America, and shoot them for what? … They never called me nigger. They never lynched me. They didn’t put no dogs on me.” His career and personal life suffered, but he remained a symbol of protest and soon found victory.
Most fans know that Ali suffered for three decades from Parkinson’s Disease. The illness, which many believe was the result of years of being pummeled in the ring, robbed him of his voice and dexterity.
Bob Gunnell, a family spokesman, told NBC News, “After a 32-year battle with Parkinson’s disease, Muhammad Ali has passed away at the age of 74. The three-time World Heavyweight Champion boxer died this evening.”
To many, Ali was a controversial figure, but his legacy will forever hold a special place in American history and culture.
Like many Black men, to me, Ali has always been a distant quasi-father-figure, my first favorite “rapper” (“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee …”), and in many ways my alter ego. His legacy also impacted Black men before me, including my father, who gave me the middle name “Ali” with much pride and expectation. Throughout my life, the name has served as a reminder of the strength and dignity of a man my father respected so much he passed his name onto his first born. I did the same 18 years ago when I was blessed with my first child. A girl. Her middle name is Aaliyah. And, like Ali, I always expect the greatest from her. When my little girl was just a year old, we had the honor of meeting Muhammad Ali. The G.O.A.T. took my little one into his hands and held her up. It was a “Kunta Kinte” kind of moment. One I will never forget.
Ali’s funeral service will take place in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.
