Community | January 18, 2012 | 2 comments

Muhammad Ali turns 70: Happy Birthday, Champ

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hoosierdaddy
“I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong… No Viet Cong ever called me nigger.”

No Viet Cong ever called Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali a nigger, but a lot of people I grew up with (including very close family members, I’m ashamed to say) sure did. Ali was everything that terrified the white South. He was physically dominating (with all the undercurrents that implies). He was “uppity” incarnate. He was unAmerican for refusing to go to Vietnam. He was the devil for converting to Islam. And deep down, the part that scared them the worst was this: they understood, I think, that he was smarter than they were, too.
  1. groups:
    Community,   Culture,   Sports,   current cult,   1 more
  2. tags:
    Sports Racism Boxing The South 1 more
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2 comments // Muhammad Ali turns 70: Happy Birthday, Champ

  • remanns
  • remanns
    • 0
      remanns  
    • RIGHT ON. ;
      this
      [ All I really knew was what I saw: Ali was brilliant. He was objectively the best fighter alive and he was also fun. His charisma didn’t just fill the room, it overwhelmed the entire world. You could feel it ]

      again -RIGHT ON.

    • 4 months ago
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