Just something to consider. George Wallace was a white southern politician who expressed very similar beliefs earlier in his life, and he also used his political influence to adversely AFFECT the lives of minorities who only sought equal rights, unlike Ali, who had NO AFFECT on the lives of any white citizen due to his personal views.
In fact, during the era that Ali made those statements, America as a country was still in the beginning stages of desegregation.
Ali was a black person who grew up marginalized as a second class citizen in the south during Jim Crow, and even after winning a gold medal in the 1964 Olympics for America, returned home and still could not even sit down and get served a sandwich in a local restaurant.
George Wallace recanted his beliefs near the end of his life, far later than Ali did, yet he is viewed as a "reformed racist, who changed" by many.
Here is a little publicized fact about Ali that gets minimal attention.
When he acted as a negotiater to bring these hostages back to the USA, he did not ask what race they were. They were Americans to him.
Muhammad Ali's death early morning on Saturday, June 4, 2016 brought back memories of the world's most well known athlete, boxing's greatest champion and a civil rights pioneer.
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