By Ruth Ferguson, NDG Editor
If you can back it up, it ain’t boasting. Muhammad Ali could back it up. So when he proudly proclaimed he was The Greatest , no one disagreed with him.
On Friday, June 3, 2016 at the age of 74 Ali stepped out of the ring for the final time. The reaction around the world, was immediate as his passing was noted by everyone from President and First Lady Obama to even those who never knew him as a boxer, but as a man committed to his beliefs.
The staff of the North Dallas Gazette, joins Ali’s fans in offering our reflections on the champion – inside and outside the ring.
Thurman Jones, co-founder and Publisher, discussed the pride that Ali and James Brown helped African Americans to rediscover.
“Blacks were afraid to go downtown,” Jones shared, but watching the way Ali never backed down from his principals, even when he was stripped of his boxing title made a difference. This in combination with James Brown’s lyrics proclaiming “I’m Black and I’m proud,” emboldened black men and women to regain self-pride as a community.
NDG’s Nina Garcia’s memories of Ali are tied to her personal hero – her father.
“I first became aware of Muhammad Ali when I was no more than 12 years old. I saw my Dad painting a picture of two men boxing. I was curious as to who they were and why he was painting a picture of them. He looked at me with this bewildered look on his face and said ‘Float like a Butterfly… Sting like a Bee! Haven’t you heard of Muhammad Ali?!’
My Dad then proceeded to tell me that he was a Heavyweight Boxing Champ and then gave me a brief history of this great athlete. I think at the time I was more fascinated with how my Dad captured the image of the boxers via acrylic paints on canvas. It seemed real to life to me.”
As Nina learned more about his contributions to the world outside of the ring, she grew to appreciate Ali much more.
“He was a man who gave unselfishly and wanted to help in the change for better.”
Even though Ali’s greatest days were long since behind him before our interns were born, they also shared their reflections on Ali’s contributions.
“I think Muhammad Ali was the greatest boxer that ever lived,” shared Michael Watts II. “He was entertaining and always spoke his mind.”
McKenna Wierman, covering Lifestyles this summer for NDG shared, “Though I didn’t grow up knowing much about Ali, his name has always been unanimous with standing up for oneself and staying true to your beliefs. He was an champion boxer and a champion of self-truth. ?
