Page 6
June 15, 2016
O PINION
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Champion Boxer, Activist and World Icon
Muhammad Ali
was my idol
m arC h. m orial
How would you
approach the colossal
task of describing a
man who once boast-
ed that he, “wrestled
with alligators, tussled
with a whale, done
handcuffed lightning and throw
thunder in jail. Only a man you al-
low to deine himself—in his own
colorful words—which is what
Muhammad Ali did his entire life
and throughout his legendary box-
ing career.
Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. was
born where he was buried: Louis-
ville, Kentucky. His mother was a
cook and house cleaner and his fa-
ther was a frustrated painter with
big dreams, dreams he would pass
on to both his sons along with this
constant refrain— “I am the great-
est.”
Ali’s legendary boxing career
began with a beloved, stolen bi-
cycle. The $60 red Schwinn was
a Christmas gift from his father,
and it would set the wheels in mo-
tion for an angry 12-year-old kid
by
who claimed he would “whup” the
person who stole his bike, to step
into a ring, pick up boxing gloves
and ight for justice. It was a dein-
ing moment and a trope that
would shape his professional
and personal life.
Ali was a great ighter, but
his ights were never limit-
ed to the inside of a boxing
ring. Ali’s career was teem-
ing with personal success,
but every win in and out of the
ring was a win for every man or
woman who ever felt attacked,
or had to bob and weave past the
ferocious jabs of social injustice.
Ali was a professional athlete, but
he used that platform to make an
impact that transcended pugilism.
Famous people often take up caus-
es, but Ali is the greatest because
he stood up for his principles and
made consequential sacriices on
behalf of those causes.
After winning a gold medal in
the Rome Olympics and beating
Sonny Liston for the heavyweight
championship, the newly crowned
22-year-old champ renounced
his given name, Cassius Clay, as
a “slave name” and revealed that
he was a member of the Nation
of Islam. His new faith and his
new name drew intense contro-
versy and lost him many fans, but
he persevered and successfully
defended his title every time he
stepped in the ring.
In 1967, Ali was drafted to
serve in the Army during the
height of our nation’s war in Viet-
nam. He refused to serve, saying,
““I ain’t got no quarrel with them
Viet Cong,” and requested con-
scientious-objector status from
ighting against people he said
never lynched him or put dogs
on him. No slight of hand in the
ring, head fake or lightening quick
shufle was as bold as Ali’s refusal
to ight in a war he did not believe
in. The reaction was swifter and
harder than the punches of any op-
ponent Ali had ever faced. Many
called him a traitor. Ali was con-
victed of draft evasion, stripped of
his heavyweight title and banned
from boxing. While he wasn’t
locked up for sticking to his con-
viction, he was locked out of the
sport the brought him to fame. He
sacriiced four years of his career
and untold millions rather than re-
nounce his anti-war stance.
Ali would return to the ring in
1970 and would go on to thrill
boxing fans, supporters, and crit-
ics, with his skill in the ring. Loud
and unapologetic, Ali would con-
tinue to speak out against social
injustice and preach the gospel
of Black pride. Never forgetting
those who were still “catching
hell” while he had it made, Ali
understood that “service to others
is the rent you pay for your room
here on earth.” The 12-year-old
boy who lost his bike at the hands
of an unknown thief may have
changed his name, but never wa-
vered from his purpose: to seek
justice. His ight for justice was
never his alone; it was for every-
one.
It was during this period of his
career that I, a star-struck 13-year-
old, was thrilled to meet Ali at an
Alpha Phi Alpha convention in
Milwaukee. I was awed by him
have considered him a hero all
my life. One of my prized posses-
sions is an autographed Ali box-
ing glove, a cherished wedding
gift from my wife. Later, I was
honored to serve as an Ali Center
Board Member for several years.
Ali laid his gloves down for the
last time in 1980. After retiring, he
was diagnosed with Parkinson’s
disease. As the progressive con-
dition robbed him of his poetry,
stinging provocations and phys-
ical dexterity, he became a more
cherished igure, here and abroad,
and the accolades poured in for
breadth of Ali’s career as a boxer
and activist.
He was the irst boxer on a box
of Wheaties. He lit the Olympic
lame during the Atlanta Olym-
pics. President Bush presented
Ali with the Medal of Freedom,
and the National Urban League
honored Ali with the highest com-
mendation presented by the orga-
nization by giving him an Equal
Opportunity Day Award.
He was my idol and his cour-
age has been a beacon for so many
in my generation.
Ali fought his last battle against
his most vicious foe in the public
eye for over 30 years. While we
mourn the time of his departure,
we are reminded of what made him
“the greatest of all time.” We should
all draw comfort from knowing
that he competed well. We take
pride in the fact that he inished the
race. And we recognize that we are
all better because he kept the faith.
Rest in peace, champ.
Marc H. Morial is president
and chief executive of the National
Urban League.
Blaming People for their Own Poverty is a Myth
The illusion
goes back
centuries
italism, Adam Smith extolled the
virtues of working hard and being
thrifty with money. That wasn’t
just the way to get rich, he rea-
soned — it was morally
righteous.
Sociologist Max We-
by j ill r iChardson
ber took the idea further
If you’re poor, many
in describing what he
Americans think, it’s
called the Protestant
your own fault. It’s a
work ethic.
sign of your own moral
To Puritans who be-
failing.
lieved that one was ei-
I don’t personally be-
lieve that, but the idea has roots in ther predestined for heaven or for
our culture going back centuries. hell, Weber wrote, working hard
In The Wealth of Nations, the and accumulating wealth was a
foundational work of modern cap- sign of God’s blessing. Those
he Law Oices of
Patrick John Sweeney, P.C.
Patrick John Sweeney
Attorney at Law
1549 SE Ladd, Portland, Oregon
Portland:
Hillsoboro:
Facsimile:
Email:
(503) 244-2080
(503) 244-2081
(503) 244-2084
Sweeney@PDXLawyer.com
who got rich, the Puritans thought,
must have been chosen by God for
heaven; those who were poor were
damned.
Even major American philan-
thropists have subscribed to this
idea.
John D. Rockefeller, a religious
Baptist, thought his extraordinary
wealth was evidence from God of
his righteousness. Fortunately, he
took this as a sign that he should
use his money for good. He gave
it to universities and medical re-
search centers, and his descen-
dants used it for great art muse-
ums, national parks, and more.
But Rockefeller also believed
that the poor were often deserving
of their fate. If they’d just worked
harder or budgeted their mon-
ey wisely, then they wouldn’t be
poor.
Plenty of Americans agree.
Sadly, that’s often not the case.
The irst factor determining
one’s wealth as an adult is an ac-
cident of birth. If you’re born to
wealthy parents, you’ll go to bet-
ter schools and get better health
care. Your odds of success as an
adult are higher.
If, on other hand, you’re born
to poor parents who must work
multiple jobs instead of staying
home to care for you — or who
can’t afford healthy food, medical
care, or a house in a good school
district — your chances of earning
your way into the middle class as
an adult plummet.
In fact, if your parents’ income
is in the bottom 20 percent, there’s
a 40 percent chance you’ll be
stuck in that low-income bracket
for your entire life. Thanks to rac-
ism, that igure rises to 50 percent
for black people born into poverty.
Indeed, racial disparities crop
up even at the bottom of the lad-
der.
Due to historic racism and dis-
crimination, data from the Eco-
nomic Policy Institute shows,
low-income white families tend
to be wealthier than black families
making the same income. Further-
more, whites are more likely to
have friends and family who can
help them out of a inancial bind.
Finally, thanks to decades
of discriminatory housing and
lending practices, black families
are more likely to live in poorer
neighborhoods. That impacts the
quality of the schools they attend,
among many other things.
So why can’t a hardworking
family get ahead? For one thing,
it’s expensive to be poor.
Try inding an affordable place
to live. You need to have enough
cash on hand to pay a deposit.
Many apartments require you to
prove your income is 2.5 times the
cost of the rent.
Public assistance programs
only help the most destitute, and
often don’t provide enough even
then.
For the disabled, the situation is
worse. In theory, Social Security
provides for those with disabili-
ties. In reality, getting approved
for disability payments is costly
(in both medical and legal fees)
and dificult. Once you get ap-
proved, disability payments are
low, condemning you to poverty
for life.
In short, there are many reasons
why poor Americans are poor.
It doesn’t help that our society
thinks it’s their own fault.
OtherWords columnist Jill
Richardson is the author of Recipe
for America: Why Our Food Sys-
tem Is Broken and What We Can
Do to Fix It.