“I was always a boxer. Even in my early teens, and I was confident. I trained like a workhorse. A champion is made after he’s tired. The one who can dig deeper, go beyond that second wind, beyond that third wind. To the edge of death!! My name is Muhammad Ali and when I joined the nation of Islam, I was told that if I didn’t go on TV and tell the whole world that I wasn’t no Muslim, there wasn’t gonna be no Cassius Clay. Well there ain’t no Cassius Clay. That’s a slave name. I took the name, Muhammad Ali. Then, I refused to participate in the Vietnam War. I don’t wanna look at no bigger picture! The picture I see is me on the trail to jail with no bail! It didn’t make sense to me. I’m supposed to go over-seas to help free the people of South Vietnam- the same time my people, you and me, we ain’t free to live - right here in Kentucky! Don’t make no sense! I believe that love, not hate, is at the heart of God’s master plan. A Salaam Alay Kum.”
