Photo: Singer-athlete Paul Robeson, 1963 (AP Photo) / Boston Celtics legend Bill Russell, May 17, 2011. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds) / Heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali , Dec. 3, 2009 (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
There was no one like boxing champ Muhammad Ali, and there will probably be none like him in the future. From the beginning of his career, he stood out, but once he was tuned into the teachings of Elijah Muhammad and was befriended by Malcolm X, his focus and tongue were laser sharp.
When drafted for the Vietnam War, he stood by his principles and became a conscientious objector–even if it meant he risked prison during the prime of his career.
“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 in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights?” asked Ali, as reported by The Washington Post. “No, I’m not going 10,000 miles from home to help murder and burn another poor nation simply to continue the domination of white slave masters of the darker people the world over.”
Due to his religious beliefs and moral opposition to the Vietnam War, Ali refused to be drafted in 1966. As a result, the federal government was found guilty of draft evasion and stripped him of boxing titles. Although he stayed out of prison while appealing the decision to the Supreme Court, he could not fight until his case was overturned in 1971.
Martin Luther King, who also opposed the war, said of Ali, “He is giving up even fame. He is giving up millions of dollars in order to stand up for what his conscience tells him is right.”
Vietnam stance
