Muhammad Ali Contributions

Muhammad Ali, one of the most talented African American people in the world once said “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” ("30 of Muhammad"). Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, and Wilma Rudolph were some of the most talented African Americans who ever took steps on planet Earth. Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play professional baseball in 1947 (Swaine). Muhammad Ali was one of the most talented, smart and hard working human beings.Wilma Rudolph was the first African American to win three gold medals in one Olympic event (Roberts). African American athletes have impacted U.S. history as demonstrated by Jackie Robinson, Muhammad Ali, and Wilma Rudolph. Jackie Robinson was a person who made a change in the African

history in the 1950's and 1960's by hitting the society. Ali was a great boxer who was very confident in his boxing game. Ali wanted to make a change in society by trying to get rid of the racial discrimination in America. Ali was also against the war in Vietnam. Ali said “Unless you have a very good reason to kill, war is wrong.” Ali sent messages of hope to the African American community by telling them to have pride. Ali said “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 while so called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs?” Ali said “The Vietnamese had nothing against him” (Schwartz).When he was drafted to fight in the war, a lieutenant called Ali by his real name, Cassius Clay, and he said, “Sir that isn't my name, my name is “MUHAMMAD ALI!” Ali said, again “Sir that is a slave name my name is “MUHAMMAD ALI” (Muhammad Ali [HH:MM:SS]). After that, Ali refused to serve in the Vietnam War. This lead Ali to the Supreme Court, and he was five years in imprisonment. Ali was precluded from the athletic commissions for fighting in the United States for three and a half years. Even though Ali was released from his five year sentence, he still had a jail sentence of four years, which was overturned by the Supreme Court (Schwartz). Ali was also stripped of the heavyweight boxing title because he refused to serve in the draft Following his suspension, Ali reclaimed his heavyweight belt two more times during the 1970's by beating Joe Frazier and George Foreman (Levy) Later, Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson disease in 1984 and he later died on June 3, 2016. Ali, not only changed the way sports are played today, but he also guided people and showed them the way to protest injustice. Ali told people to not let people take their pride. Ali paved the way for African Americans to play sports, make a change in politics, and to have an impact on the world. Wilma