Yesterday I wrote an article about how I didn’t get Muhammad Ali. You can read that here. It was an honest statement based upon my feelings growing up in the Louisville area and being in the thick of all of the celebrations of Muhammad Ali’s life. I felt like an outsider because he really didn’t belong to my generation.
Then we received a phone call and an invitation from Barbara Sexton Smith to visit the Ali Center. More than that, it was an invitation from one generation to another to get to know the Ali that they knew. So I walked from the studio to take a tour of the Ali Center to hopefully learn what all of the celebrations a mourning were all about.
As I walked up I was stopped by an employee and asked if I was Jesse. I said yes and immediately wondered what I was in for. I guess word had gotten to many of the people at the Ali Center that I “didn’t get Ali.”
Oz (pictured right) began my tour by discussing the six core principles that Ali stood for, Confidence, Conviction, Dedication, Giving, Respect, and Spirituality. The whole floor is sort of organized into those 6 parts. I later found out too that the whole center was set up that way because that’s the way Muhammad Ali wanted it. It’s not just a museum with his name on it, he meant this to be his legacy.
One spot that got my attention was the red bike standing in the corner. That red bike is a replica of the one owned by a young Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay). The story goes that someone stole it outside of the Spalding theater and that he went up to a police officer and asked where the culprit was. The officer asked him why. Ali said, “Because I want to whoop him.” The officer then asks, “Do you know how to fight? Cause you can’t whoop someone if you don’t know how to fight.” That was when he took him to the Spalding gym and he learned to box. Super cool moment that I never knew!
Later we were joined by Barbara, who took over my tour, and she brought with her WWE great and HUGE supporter of the Ali Center Aaron “Damien” Sandow.
Barbara, who had heard my story, took me into a room dedicated to Ali’s 1996 torch lighting. There is a special room filled with Olympic torches that has a short movie about that moment in time. She felt it was important for me to see this because my first image of Muhammad Ali was that torch lighting ceremony.
After I watched that movie, I realized something. When I was 10 years old, I saw that image and saw a weak man. An athlete well past his prime being honored. What I failed to see at 10 was that this wasn’t an image of weakness, this was an image of strength. I didn’t know that this was the first time that the world had seen the effects of Parkinsons disease on Ali.
My view on this memory is now forever changed. I now understand the courage and strength that this represented. That’s the power of the Ali Center and the legacy of Muhammad Ali.
I was also amazed by how many kids were there. I didn’t think this was necessarily a place for children. I was wrong. Not only does the Ali Center encourage children, they have several programs designed to enrich children’s education and to help spread the messages and core principles of Muhammad Ali. If you want more info on those check them out HERE and make sure you look at their newest program Generation Ali geared toward young adults.
I guess that’s what my journey through the Ali Center yesterday was all about. One generation extending an offer to another. Sharing the Ali that they knew and his legacy with a generation the may have missed out.
There was so much that happened yesterday during the 3 hours I was at the Ali Center and at the I am Ali festival at the Kentucky Center. It’s tough to put it all here. I tried to sum it up on air, maybe I did a better job there. I’ve always been a better speaker than writer.
We had someone call in that felt what I felt too.
If that didn’t do it then I encourage you to go the Ali Center and see for yourself. They do a much better job of conveying the legacy of Muhammad Ali than I ever could. Go on your own journey.
If you were like me and you didn’t “get” Muhammad Ali. That’s ok. Don’t feel bad because you don’t understand their significance whether they are a part of your generation or not. I would tell you to have the courage to ask. You may end up on a journey of your own and you never know where that will take you.
So the million dollar question. Do I now get Muhammad Ali? Yes I now get Muhammad Ali. I get why he meant so much to so many. I get why thousands of people have come to Louisville, Ky to mourn the world’s loss. I get why his legacy is so much bigger than he was and that’s the way he would want it.
Thank you for following me on this journey that started with an honest conversation on the air and led to an exciting journey of discovery of not only Muhammad Ali but myself too.
Jesse
