In our Reel to Real class, we have discussed several reasons why Muhammad Ali is one of my favorite figures in civil rights. Ali sacrificed the heavyweight crown, his livelihood, and became a spokesperson for Civil Rights as he stated in the public that “No Vietcong ever called me a n—er.” This quote put him right in the middle of the political protest on Vietnam.
Please take the time to complete this Learnist Learnboard on Ali, Civil Rights, and Vietnam.
http://learni.st/users/dawncasey/boards/4375-muhammad-ali-civil-rights-and-vietnam
We will discuss Ali’s stance on the war in the context of the Civil Rights movement, the Vietnam War, and the Cold War.
Ali is important in the Cold War, because one of the biggest pieces of propaganda used by the Soviet Union was that America was not, in fact, the “home of the free,” as evidenced by its treatement of African Americans.