The Greatest!

[Star]

.

Fifty years ago today, on May 25, 1965, Muhammad Ali defeated Sonny Liston​

but Muhammad Ali's greatest battle was still to be fought...

"I Ain't Got No Quarrel With The VietCong...
No VietCong Ever Called Me ******" — Muhammad Ali, 1966​

On August 23, 1966, Muhammad Ali embarked on the biggest "fight" of his life when he applied with the Selective Service for conscientious objector status on religious grounds (as a minister with the Nation of Islam). In what became an extensive legal, political, professional, and personal battle, Ali was convicted of draft evasion, stripped of his boxing title, and became a lightning rod — and a voice — for opinions on the Vietnam War. Muhammad Ali's willingness to speak out against racism in the United States, and the affect it had on domestic and foreign policy, earned him many supporters and detractors. In 1971, nearly five years after it began, Ali's legal battle finally culminated with a unanimous decision (8-0 with Thurgood Marshall abstaining) by the United States Supreme Court overturning his draft conviction. The following resources document his struggle, his views, and his influence.

Clay, aka Ali v. United States 1966-1971
Click here for resources detailing Muhammad Ali's fight against induction into the U.S. Army — from 1966 to 1971. It includes the full text of the Supreme Court decision (Clay, aka Ali v. United States), a 1967 CIA document describing a pro Ali rally, editorials and coverage from the Nation of Islam publication, Muhammad Speaks, and more.

Ali's Vietnam Legacy
Muhammad Ali's stance on Vietnam inspired admiration and hatred among many. Click here to find resources describing Ali's Vietnam legacy, including reactions to his being named "Athlete of the Century" by USA Today in late 1999, an Ali interview with National Public Radio from December 2001, in which Ali answers his critics, and more.

"No, I am not going 10,000 miles to help murder kill and burn other people to simply help continue the domination of white slavemasters over dark people the world over. This is the day and age when such evil injustice must come to an end."
—Muhammad Ali
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<snip>

​

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[Freewill]

He really didn't want to kill anyone, he just wanted to beat the crap out of them.

 

[Star]

.

Fifty years ago today, on May 25, 1965, Muhammad Ali defeated Sonny Liston​

but Muhammad Ali's greatest battle was still to be fought...

"I Ain't Got No Quarrel With The VietCong...
No VietCong Ever Called Me ******" — Muhammad Ali, 1966​

On August 23, 1966, Muhammad Ali embarked on the biggest "fight" of his life when he applied with the Selective Service for conscientious objector status on religious grounds (as a minister with the Nation of Islam). In what became an extensive legal, political, professional, and personal battle, Ali was convicted of draft evasion, stripped of his boxing title, and became a lightning rod — and a voice — for opinions on the Vietnam War. Muhammad Ali's willingness to speak out against racism in the United States, and the affect it had on domestic and foreign policy, earned him many supporters and detractors. In 1971, nearly five years after it began, Ali's legal battle finally culminated with a unanimous decision (8-0 with Thurgood Marshall abstaining) by the United States Supreme Court overturning his draft conviction. The following resources document his struggle, his views, and his influence.

Clay, aka Ali v. United States 1966-1971
Click here for resources detailing Muhammad Ali's fight against induction into the U.S. Army — from 1966 to 1971. It includes the full text of the Supreme Court decision (Clay, aka Ali v. United States), a 1967 CIA document describing a pro Ali rally, editorials and coverage from the Nation of Islam publication, Muhammad Speaks, and more.

Ali's Vietnam Legacy
Muhammad Ali's stance on Vietnam inspired admiration and hatred among many. Click here to find resources describing Ali's Vietnam legacy, including reactions to his being named "Athlete of the Century" by USA Today in late 1999, an Ali interview with National Public Radio from December 2001, in which Ali answers his critics, and more.

"No, I am not going 10,000 miles to help murder kill and burn other people to simply help continue the domination of white slavemasters over dark people the world over. This is the day and age when such evil injustice must come to an end."
—Muhammad Ali
​

<snip>

​

.

http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/May-June-08/On-this-Day--Muhammad-Ali-Convicted-of-Draft-Evasion.html

<snip>

Ali declared that he would not serve in Vietnam, proclaiming, “I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong.” He appealed for an exemption, claiming that he was a conscientious objector based on his religious beliefs.

“Cassius Clay has a blind and total belief in every word of Message to the Blackman, and thus he becomes a rare individual: a genuine, if misguided, conscientious objector,” wrote Sports Illustrated’s Jack Olsen in 1966,

Ali and his managers claimed that government had tried to arrange a deal whereby Ali would enter the Army but be sent to fight, according to Time magazine. Ali declined, but the government denies the deal was ever offered.

On April 28, 1967, after three appeals were denied, Ali was forced to appear at induction ceremony in Houston. He performed all the qualifying tests, but when he was called to step forward to symbolize induction, he refused.



Afterwards, Ali read a statement explaining his actions: “I have searched my conscience and I find I cannot be true to my belief in my religion by accepting such a call. … If justice prevails, if my Constitutional rights are upheld, I will be forced to go neither to the Army nor jail. In the end I am confident that justice will come my way for the truth must eventually prevail.”

Two months later, a Houston jury took only 20 minutes to convict Ali—still called Cassius Clay in court—of draft evasion. He was given a five-year prison sentence and a $10,000 fine. He would also be stripped of his passport and his heavyweight title, and was banned from fighting in the United States.

“Overnight he became a ‘******’ again,” said sportswriter and Ali promoter Harold Conrad, according to Time. “He threw his life away on one toss of the dice for something he believed in. Not many folks do that.”

Ali was free on appeal, and the judge told him that his sentence would likely be reduced. “Whatever the final sentence,” wrote Time, “it appears unlikely that Clay—still indisputably the best heavyweight in the world—will ever again be a championship contender.”

Ali’s Exile and Return to Boxing

Ali spent the next three years free while his conviction was on appeal; he lectured at universities and Muslim gatherings around the United States and gained support as anti-war sentiment increased.

His appeal would reach the Supreme Court in 1971. In Clay v. United States, the Court ruled 8-0 that Ali met the three standards for conscientious objector status: that he opposed war in any form, that his beliefs were based on religious teaching and that his objection was sincere. His conviction was reversed.

<snip>

The draft law was scheduled to expire at the end of June 1971. But President Nixon decided it needed to continue and asked Congress to approve a two-year extension.
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[Shrimpbox]

And people wonder why we say the world is upside down. Muslim Ali refused to go kill other people on another continent. Today Muslims say we must kill everyone everywhere who does not believe in the teachings of the prophet.

Ali's stature increases as we get even farther from his accomplishments, and deservedly so.