Issue: 657

Many present-day Black athletes live in the bubble of an affluent white world, and are rewarded based on how far they will distance themselves from their community. For all of their sizable contracts and endorsements, today’s athletes are reticent amidst their facade of power. They make millions as they generate billions for their 21st-century masters,

"Ain't got no quarrel with no Vietcong" Remained with me all life long. That, was Muhammad Ali! A beautiful specimen of a MAN! For all on the planet to see.

He handed me the 3x5 card and said, “This is for you.” It was a pencil drawing of mountains topped by the Muslim quarter-moon and it was signed, “Muhammad All.” I probably had the same expression on my face as the kid in the famous Coke commercial who gets a jersey from Mean Joe Green.

I know where I’m going and I know the truth, and I don’t have to be what you want me to be. I’m free to be what I want” (Muhammad Ali). For a ten year-old Black boy in America there is no greater message, and there is no greater messenger than the Champion, Muhammad Ali.

He was the epicenter of the revolt of the black athlete, and he was the first "black" champion. All others before him were considered and accepted the race classification of Negro. Moreover, black for Ali was considerably more than a name, it was a movement to restore the dignity and respect of black people while pursuing social justice.