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Champion of Service: Celebrating Muhammad Ali
Although Muhammad Ali is universally revered as he Greatest of All Time (or G.O.A.T.) for his exploits in the boxing ring, he also became a champion of humanity through his commitment to service outside the ring. Through a partnership led by PBS Books, USA TODAY and the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, this program will highlight the dedication to courage, generosity, kindness and compassion embodied by Muhammad Ali in recognition of his 80th birthday. Additional partners include the Louisville Courier Journal, Metro Louisville United Way, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) and Kentucky Educational Television (KET).
8 - 9 p.m.
His widow and vice chair of the Ali Center, Lonnie Ali, will introduce the one-hour event. Guest speakers will include PBS filmmaker Ken Burns; Hana Ali, Muhammad Ali’s daughter; John Ramsey, a personal friend; David Chaudoir, longtime employee; and Dr. Richard Lapchick, who is a human rights activist, author, scholar and Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award winner. They each will provide a unique perspective on the Champion from the people who knew him best.
Along with learning more about the unique contribution Muhammad Ali made in sports and society, this national virtual program will also encourage others to participate in The Greatest Give Back through service projects across the country, which are organized each year on January 17, Ali’s birthday. In 2022, this date coincides with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, offering another opportunity to give back to those in our own communities who are suffering racial or social injustices.
The virtual program will include a video about the Ali Center and Ken Burns sharing some inspirational comments and a segment from his PBS documentary, “Muhammad Ali.” In addition, inspirational authors and celebrities will explain what Ali’s legacy means to them and reveal their personal Red Bike Moment – a defining moment in their lives, much like the one that changed the future of the then 12-year-old Cassius Clay when his red Schwinn bike was stolen, an incident that eventually led him to a Louisville boxing gym.