On January seventeenth, 1942, Cassius Marcellus Clay was born into a small family in Louisville, Kentucky. At an early age, Clay showed that he was not afraid of any fight, whether it be inside or outside of the ring. As an African American child, growing up in the South, Clay experienced first hand racial discrimination and prejudice, which most likely contributed to his childhood passion for boxing. Upon being showed the boxing ring by a town police officer, Clay worked long and hard as an early teen to be an outstanding athlete. Soon enough, he began to train full time and earned multiple titles. Throughout his early experience as a boxer, Cassius Clay turned into a champion, he soon changed his name to Muhammad Ali, a name that would be known forever. Today when most people hear the name, Muhammad Ali, they think about a world famous boxer, however, it is possible that Ali’s greatest influence was outside of the ring. While
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It was said that Ali seemed to change after that, he visibly bragged less about his accomplishments and started to stress the importance of Islam as a spiritual force in his life. Ali continued to practice his newfound faith, becoming one of the first well-known sports figures to openly talk about his religion in and out of the ring. However, at the time that Ali did this, the Islamic religion was not very popular. Although it wasn’t a considerably liked idea, Ali thought it the best change for himself. The Islamic nation also benefitted from Ali’s conversion. The difference between Muhammad Ali and all of the other “black Muslims” was that Ali was both a Muslim and the heavyweight champion of the world. This was the combination of representation that would attract attention to the Islamic religion and act as a powerful “uplifting force” in America’s black
It was said that Ali seemed to change after that, he visibly bragged less about his accomplishments and started to stress the importance of Islam as a spiritual force in his life. Ali continued to practice his newfound faith, becoming one of the first well-known sports figures to openly talk about his religion in and out of the ring. However, at the time that Ali did this, the Islamic religion was not very popular. Although it wasn’t a considerably liked idea, Ali thought it the best change for himself. The Islamic nation also benefitted from Ali’s conversion. The difference between Muhammad Ali and all of the other “black Muslims” was that Ali was both a Muslim and the heavyweight champion of the world. This was the combination of representation that would attract attention to the Islamic religion and act as a powerful “uplifting force” in America’s black