The death of Muhammad Ali on June 4 provoked an outpouring of emotion and discussion, forcing some to try to sum up his legacy. It was an impossible task.
Somehow, Ali?s raucous, marathon memorial service on Friday after he had been buried managed to harness those feelings and celebrate Ali as he was ? as a great fighter, jokester, religious martyr, political activist, humanitarian.
It was a powerhouse, star-studded affair that seemed to transcend a simple, mournful service. Speakers such as Billy Crystal, former president Bill Clinton and sportscaster Bryant Gumble poured their hearts out on a stage bookended by flower arrangements, speaking of their relationship with Ali.
The service, at KFC YUM! Center in Louisville, Kentucky, at times had the feeling of a political rally with thunderous ovations as several speakers chose to compare Ali?s messages of inclusiveness and tolerance with today?s divisive political climate.
?He was a silent messenger of peace who taught us that life becomes better when you build bridges, not walls,? said Crystal, an obvious reference to Donald Trump?s desire to build a wall along the Mexican border. ?He was like a Mozart or a Shakespeare or Picasso ? someone who comes along once in a thousand years.?
The Rabbi and political activist Michael Lerner seemed to take direct aim at Trump?s anti-Muslim rhetoric when he said, ?We will not tolerate politicians putting down Muslims and blaming Muslims for a few people.?
Crystal made sure to add a little levity to the ceremony, telling a story of the time he and Ali attended Howard Cosell?s funeral. ?Do you think he?s wearing his hairpiece?? Ali asked the comedian. Crystal said he didn?t think so. ?How is God going to recognize him?? the champ replied.
Crystal told of the time Ali asked him to do roadwork with him on the rolling hills of a country club golf course. When Crystal told Ali he didn?t think he could run there because he was Jewish, Ali said he would never run there again. ?He is gone but will never die,? Crystal said. ?He was my big brother.?
Clinton described Ali as a ?universal soldier for our common humanity? and portrayed the heavyweight great as someone who had the ability to brighten someone?s mood with a simple gesture. It was a common theme among the speakers- examples of Ali making them feel better with his wit and sense of humor.
The 42nd president of the U.S. explained how Ali used his powers of resuscitation at a banquet they both attended after he had left the White House and was feeling out of sorts. Clinton also noted how Ali dealt with his Parkinson?s with dignity and grace.
?He refused to be imprisoned by a disease that kept him hamstrung longer than Nelson Mandela was kept in prison in South Africa,? said Clinton, who admitted to breaking down upon watching Ali light the Olympic flame in 1996: ?I was still weeping like a baby, seeing his hands shake and his legs shake and knowing by God he was going to make those last few steps no matter what ? I know it would happen. He never wasted a day feeling sorry for himself. With his free spirit, he made his life bigger, not smaller. He was a free man of faith and he shared the gifts we all have.?
One of Ali?s three daughters, Rasheda Ali-Walsh, marveled at the outpouring of love Ali?s passing had generated. ?You have inspired us and the world to be the best version of ourselves,? she said. ?You shook up the world in life. Now you are shaking up the world in death. Daddy?s looking at us now, ?I told you I was the greatest.??
There was a story, told by family friend John Ramsey, of Ali visiting a losing boxer in his empty dressing room at the 2000 Olympics when no one else would bother. Ali began to playfully shadowbox with the young boxer, brightening his mood. Later, Ramsey told Ali in the car, ?Muhammad, you?re the greatest.? Ali turned to him, ?Tell me something I don?t already know.?
Ali?s wife, Lonnie Ali, wearing a dark, wide brimmed hat that obscured her eyes, spoke of her husband?s introduction into boxing with the help of a Louisville police man after his bike had been stolen when he was 12. ?America must never forget that when a cop and an inner city kid talk to each other,? she said, ?then miracles can happen.?
President Barack Obama was unable to make the service. In his place, Valerie Jarrett, special assistant to the president, delivered a tribute she said was penned by Obama. He ?helped inspire a skinny kid with a funny last name to have the audacity to think he could be anything ? even the president of the United States,? Obama said.
Rabbi Joe Rapport told a story of Ali giving a hitchhiker who had recently suffered a stroke a ride home and of stealthily sliding money under a napkin to him after he refused to accept any charity.
The eldest daughter of Malcolm X, Ambassador Attallah Shabazz broke down as she spoke of the way her friendship with Ali helped sustain her after her father?s assassination in 1965. Chief Oren Lyons of the Turtle Clan of the Seneca Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy spoke of Ali once marching into Washington with other Native American demonstrators.
?He was a leader among men and a champion of the people,? Lyons said. ?He fought for people of color, yet he was a man of peace and compassion who used his great gifts for the common path. His spirit has a path to the creator.?
Gumbel lauded his universal appeal and also his toughness in the face of adversity when he was banned from boxing for three years for refusing to be inducted into the U.S. Army because of his opposition to the Vietnam War on religious grounds. ?The greatness of this man for the ages is that he was a man for all ages,? he said. ?What does it say of a man, any man, that he can go from being viewed as one of his country?s most polarizing figures to arguably its most beloved??
