Words of Wisdom

The Transformation and Ascension of Young Cassius Clay



                      

                         The Rematch 1965 Lewiston Maine

Many people know of the fighter Muhammad Ali and the greatness of his legacy, but 
some don't know the backstory that made one his most remarkable accomplishments even more extraordinary. This entry highlights the villainous background of the once

invincible fighter whom he dethroned to become the heavyweight champion 50 years ago. It also provides a description of some of the action that took place from various rounds of the highly anticipated bout. Finally, the text describes an account of one of the most bizarre occurrences in the history of professional boxing, one that the then little known Cassius Clay would have to also fight through if he were to become the heavyweight champion of the world.

“I feel great, I don‘t have a mark on my face and I just upset Sonny Liston and I just turned 22 years old. I must be the greatest!” These were the words jubilantly expressed by the then 8-1 underdog as he was being interviewed by Steve Ellis after fighting and defeating one of the most feared heavy weight champions that ever lived.

The night of February 25,1964 in Miami Beach, Florida the transformation and ascension of young Cassius Marcellus Clay into Muhammad Ali began, but the historic victory through which he

metamorphosed and meteorically rose could very well not have happened, at least not then.

How could it have been that Cassius Clay, a 22 year-old unproven fighter had won the 1964 heavyweight championship title fight?  Many experts had predicted that he would fold under the inexperience of his youth. Not only was he expected to lose the fight, he was expected to lose by a knock-out. Clay had only 19 professional bouts. Although he was undefeated and appeared well skilled as an up and coming fighter, his victories were not against the highest level of competition in the heavyweight division. Also he had been knocked down and almost counted out in his previous contest by England's Henry Cooper, a challenger considered to be a far less adept fighter than the rugged opponent he would meet for the title. Clay's opponent for the title fight would be Charles Sonny Liston, the world’s heavyweight champion at the time.  Liston was a career felon who started his boxing career while serving time in the Missouri State Penitentiary. Liston looked and acted the part dramatically well. He was more physically imposing than Clay and with a record of 35-1 he was far more experienced than his youthful challenger.  Included on his resume and documented in an article written by Jack Puma for Classic Sports, was an arrest of Liston for assault of a policeman in Saint Louis. Liston reportedly broke his knee, gashed his face and took his gun, for which he served nine months in the city workhouse. In a different incident after he was released, a hardened Liston assaulted another officer and left him upside down in a trash can.  Liston's record of bad behavior in the ring was equally menacing. On the very first punch he threw as a professional, he knocked his opponent out.  Then he walked through the division of heavyweight contenders competing for the throne like he was taking a stroll through the park and snatching candy from babies. In his first attempt to win the title he beat one of the best heavyweights ever, Floyd Patterson by an astounding first round knockout and for good measure in the rematch he knocked Patterson out again in the very first round.

It was in part because of Liston's violent nature that Clay fittingly nicknamed him, "The Big Ugly Bear". Liston struck paralyzing fear in the minds of his adversaries before his fights and inflicted paralyzing pain to their body's during them. Going into the championship fight with Clay, because of the criminal element and his pugilistic prowess, Liston was clearly viewed as having the advantage in the public's eye as well as with odds makers. Already the favorite to win, a couple of weeks before the fight
Liston gained another psychological edge.  It was described in Thomas Hauser‘s book, The Life and Times of Muhammad Ali. Clay saw Liston while Liston was losing at the craps table in a Las Vegas Casino. Clay taunted him. An upset Liston threw the dice and threatened Clay. Clay left. A short time later Liston saw Clay, walked up to him and slapped him. After Clay sheepishly responded by asking Liston, "What you do that for?" After answering with an expletive, Liston turned to a friend standing nearby and said, “I got the punk’s heart now”.

Fast forward, two weeks later to the Miami Beach Convention Center. Clay and Liston meet in the center of the ring for the introduction and the stare down. Standing face to face Liston glared at Clay in a curiously mean way, as if part of him was trying to frighten Clay and the other part was trying to figure out what to make of him and all of his pre-fight antics. Clay, slightly taller, peered down at Liston with a facial expression that exuded a silent confidence that boldly stated that he had no respect for him, and no fear of him. After the men returned to their corners Clay bounced lively up and down in his corner as he anxiously awaited the sound of the bell to start of the match. When the bell rang for the first round Liston came out and immediately pressed the fight. He pursued Clay aggressively throwing several punches. He was unsuccessful at landing any as Clay moved away effortlessly. Several seconds into the fight, still throwing hard punches, Liston missed one and Clay countered with a well timed pin point accurate left hook. Midway through the round, Liston swinging wildly with all of his might continued to miss punches. Later in the round for several seconds more, an undeterred Liston proceeded to stalk Clay as Clay fluidly danced away. Then suddenly Clay stopped and stood his ground, at which point he became more offensive. He carefully landed a quick jab as he simultaneously dodged Liston's punches. Then Clay, switching from defense to offense at a second's notice gradually started to establish control of the round by landing more lightning quick jabs.  An undaunted Liston relentlessly attempted to attack Clay, whose movement beautifully displayed a style of illusiveness that had never been seen. Conditioned to expect Clay to move away during his pursuit, Liston became more of an easy target when he moved in and the much quicker Clay stood and  went toe to toe with him. Near the end of the round Clay landed a solid combination and barely missed another while slipping Liston's punches. As the bell sounded to end the round, unable to hear it because of crowd noise, the fighters continued to fight until they were separated by the referee. Despite all of his effort Liston had only managed to land a few grazing punches and to the surprise of Liston, the experts and many of the spectators, the round was over and Clay was still standing. The end of the first round also signaled the beginning of the realization to the befuddled Liston, who had been handled unlike ever before that he was in for one of the toughest fights of his professional career. 

Early in the third round, Liston barreled forward and Clay unleashed a fury of hard punches that staggered Liston. It was the highlight of the round. As the round progressed Clay appeared to tire and Liston landed a few significant blows.

Before the bell rang to start the fifth round, Clay stood in his corner blinking his eyes and intently asking his trainer Angelo Dundee to cut his gloves off because he couldn‘t see. Something had mysteriously gotten into his eyes and impaired his vision.  Dundee attempted to flush his eyes with water to restore his vision but to no avail. Dundee persuaded Clay to go back out. He instructed him to avoid any physical contact by posturing defensively and moving away. The prospect of beating Liston with good vision was already a monumental task. Now to win the heavyweight title, he would have to overcome a critical disadvantage, temporary blindness. As instructed, Clay went back out and exposed himself to the ferocious attack of the Big Ugly Bear. Liston, immediately aware that something was wrong, savagely went after Clay, swinging with wild abandon and renewed vigor. Clay covered up and struggled to stay away from his opponent who seemed rather anxious to end the fight instantaneously. Clay desperately tried to hang on as the heavy handed hitter went after him even more aggressively.  Then suddenly out of nowhere Liston hit Clay with a huge left hook! It wasn’t clear if Clay had been hurt as he continued to back away with his hands up to protect his face. As time was running out in the round and Clay’s vision gradually returned he started to fight more offensively, and at one point to the amusement of the crowd, he even taunted Liston by peppering his face with several soft but bothersome jabs. Shortly thereafter Liston's effort ended with the round in futility.  At least for the time Clay had managed to survive an attempted mauling that was intensified by a blindsiding twist of fate.

Having been tested in the previous round, at the start of the sixth round Clay showed tremendous poise as he moved confidently around the ring demonstrating that he was in total command of the contest. Using his trigger quick jab Clay tagged Liston hard repeatedly, seemingly at will and generated surprising force with his stinging power punches. He was virtually flawless as he continued to moved from offense to defense as necessary to avoid being hit. Between round six and seven Liston's corner men worked frantically to close the cut under his left eye as he sat there on the stool looking like a man who had been beaten into submission. Then suddenly, it was over! Liston, one of the toughest fighters ever to lace up a pair of gloves refused to come out for the 7th round to defend his title, making him the only heavyweight champion in history to lose his championship belt by way of retirement.  

Through the course of the fight in Miami Beach that night Clay transitioned from contender to champion. Shortly after his magnificent rise to greatness he changed his name to Muhammad Ali.


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East St. Louis Trayvon Martin Rally Speech

                                            

Photo by Linda Gardner-(center) Raymond House

Good Afternoon Everyone. No Justice! No Peace! No Justice! No Peace! East St. Louis loves Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton, and we are especially proud of them for the way they have expressed themselves with dignity, from the circumstance surrounding their son’s death and throughout the trial of the man who killed him.  They took the high road when there were so many other avenues they could have taken.

Last year when they came to support the stop the violence rally here in East St. Louis, we the friends of Tracy Martin, presented him and Sybrina with a plaque in memory of their son Trayvon. Inscribed on the plaque was our pledge to them and our prayer for them.  As written it reads “We stand with you, we support your fight for justice and we pray that God continues to be your strength”.  That was our promise then and in the overcast of the verdict, it remains the same. We stand and support them in their continued fight for justice.

Similar to the nationwide marches that led the state of Florida to charge George Zimmerman with second degree murder last year, there are nationwide marches now to have charges filed against him in federal court. Today is a national call to action and people all over the country have answered by marching, because we want an investigation to determine if Trayvon Martin’s civil rights were violated. George Zimmerman killed Trayvon Martin, lied about the circumstances surrounding it, never explained it court and was still found not guilty by the jury. There is a grave injustice in that!

In the community of common sense we don’t believe for a minute that Trayvon was peering through windows and looking at houses, just because Mr. Zimmerman said he was.  Who does that when walking from the store in the rain while talking on the phone in a neighborhood where they have business to be? In the community of common sense we do believe that George Zimmerman created reasons to report Trayvon Martin to the police, to portray him as a suspicious person.  What really made him suspicious?  In the community of common sense we do believe that if Trayvon Martin were white George Zimmerman would have gone on to Target instead of making him a target.  He would have stayed seated in his vehicle and we would not have had to question whether he was standing his ground or not.

Fifty years ago, a march driven by the force of a quarter of a million people traveled to Washington D.C. to fight for civil rights and against this kind of discrimination. Because of that march and the laws passed behind it, forty-five years later an African American man was able to walk into the White House, not as a servant, but as the president of the United States, the highest office of power in the world. As far as he has come as an African American man to get there, if an African American boy isn’t able to walk a few yards to a house in neighborhood he’s visiting, without being discriminated against and being killed, then we as a people still have a long way to go. Thank you

The March on Washington 50th Anniversary

http://youtu.be/LkntwZKBpWw

A walk from the National Mall to the White House is a relatively short distance to travel. Depending on the starting point and the pace the stroll could take as little as thirty minutes. At any rate, if  you begin from where African Americans began fifty years ago it would be a much longer journey. On August 28, 1963 from a place of second-class citizenship, a group of African Americans and their supporters gathered at the National Mall for the March on Washington. The march was a demonstration for freedom and jobs. Driven by a force of a quarter of a million people its influence would travel through time to the White House and into history.

As a vehicle of the civil rights movement, the March on Washington carried its message of equality for African Americans from the National Mall on Capitol Hill to the the floor of the legislature in Congress. Dispatched from the Lincoln Memorial, the message boldly served as a notice of intent to reform. Adjoined with a civil rights bill proposed by President Kennedy, it trudged through the bureaucracy of Washington. The moving message prompted the passage of two important laws in successive years, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Impelled into reality by the march,  the landmark laws embarked on a mission to remove the road blocks of injustice that prevented minorities from moving forward. Persevering for decades through systemic racism the enduring statutes went on to break down those barriers.  Consequently, a path toward better educational and employment opportunities was constructed. It was through that path that the course of life for black people changed and the way was paved for the first African American to arrive at the White House as the president of the United States.

On January 21, 2013, four years after serving his first term as president, Barack Obama arrived at the National Mall again, almost fifty years after the March on Washington.  He was there to be sworn in for his second term as president.  He took the oath on the holiday named for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, the keynote speaker at the March on Washington. The bible used to swear him into office was Dr. King's traveling bible.

    

BLACK UNIVERSE-COLORFUL WORLD

Black, the most mysterious, the most abundant, and the most powerful color in the universe.  It's no wonder that Black people, who are born in more shades than any other race, are the most colorful people in the world.

The Friendship Prayer

A Triangular Affair

Being a third wheel in a love triangle is no way to roll. It’s geometrically unbalanced and physically unsafe.

Ernie Davis: The Fast Track to History

Ernie Davis was one of the fastest and best running backs to ever play college football. Experiencing racial hatred on the field along the way, he led Syracuse to its first national championship in 1961. Davis was the first African American to win the Heisman Trophy. He was also the first to be drafted first in an NFL draft. His career and life were cut short by Leukemia. Davis is remembered as a player who lived his life with dignity, grace and compassion. He took the fast track to into NFL history. Even though he never ran a yard in a professional game, the Cleveland Browns honored him by retiring his number. His story is told in the movie The Express: The Ernie Davis Story.

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Communication: On The Road To Love

On the path to relationships the importance of good communication cannot be over-stated.Whether we choose to go a new route with someone we have chemistry with or an old one with someone we have history with, learning to be a better communicator will guide us to happiness on the road to love......

Hail to the First Black Cardiologist: Dr. Daniel H. Williams

Dr. Daniel Hale Williams was a doctor of firsts at a time when Blacks were second class citizens. Amid the lack of opportunity for Negroes in the mid to late 1800’s Dr. Williams was the first African American Cardiologist. In 1893 he completed the first successful open heart surgery in the United States. He founded Provident Hospital in Chicago, the first non-segregated hospital in the United States.  He also co-founded the National Medical Association for African American doctors. Dr. Williams’ legacy was noted by Stevie Wonder in the song “Black Man” on the Songs in the Key of Life Album. Hail to the First Black Cardiologist!

Health: The True Treasure Of Life

                                                                                                                                                                  

It's a gem, a gift from God. It exceeds the worth of any amount of wealth. It's more beautiful than any person and is far more popular. There is nothing that we can do that doesn't require some aspect of it. It allows us to navigate the course of our lives, visually through our sight, mentally through our thoughts and physically through our movement. It allows us to form relationships with the people we love, vocally through our speech, audibly through our hearing and emotionally through our hearts. It's because of our health that we are able to experience the essence of our being.  Health, the true treasure of life, value it.

The Twists and Turns of This Life : Tracy Martin

Growing up in East St. Louis Trayvon Martin’s father, Tracy Martin lived in our neighborhood.  Along with the other kids on our block , we played basketball right across the street from my house. On 21^st Street and Caseyville Avenue, as children, we were carefree. Back then, none of us ever would have imagined in our wildest nightmare what would happen  more than thirty years later.  We could not have forseen that Tracy would have a son who would be murdered, that it would spark nationwide protests and that it would even be commented on by the President of the United States (who would be Black).  If anyone would have told us then that this would happen, we would not have believed it. 

When I called Tracy to express my condolences over his son's death, it was surreal. In this world we never know what’s going to happen to us, or to the people we know. The twists and turns of this life can never be predicted.  We must believe and trust that God will navigate us through them, even in our darkest hour.

                                                                                      

The Sad Truth: Famous African American Deaths

In the entertainment and sports industries  dietary related illness has taken center stage to close the curtain on the final act of many famous African Americans. There’s a who’s who list  of celebrities and athletes who have passed on from complications of diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and dietary related cancers.

Some of the victims were as familiar to us as family as they frequently came into our homes to entertain us. We grew up laughing at their antics on television, dancing to their music on the radio and cheering their accomplishments in the world of sports.
                                    
While their talents have been silenced, their voices can still be heard. If you listen closely to this tribute to famous African Americans, you can hear a voice of awareness from the grave that speaks loud enough in death to be heard in life. 
                                                             
 Excerpt and video from R. House’s, “What to Health Are We Doing!"

                        

        

                  

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Emmett Till: The Ugly Face Of Racism

If you haven’t seen this picture before, it’s one that you won’t soon forget. That’s just the way Mamie Carthan wanted it to be in 1955. That was the year that her son Emmett Till was murdered down in the Mississippi Delta. Till was visiting from Chicago that summer and had reportedly flirted with a white woman. The 14 year-old was taken from a relative’s house in the middle of the night, pistol whipped and thrown into the back of a pick-up truck. Then he was taken to a barn where he was beaten. One of his eyes was gouged out and he was shot. A 70 pound cotton gin was tied around his neck and he was thrown into the Tallahatchie River. His body was found three days later. His mother requested an open-casket funeral so that the world could see and never forget the brutality of his murder.

The two men accused of the kidnapping and murder, Roy Bryant and J.W.Milam  were tried and acquitted. It was a gross case of racial injustice in the state of Mississippi. The two accused later admitted to the crimes in a magazine article, but they were unable to be re-tried because of Double Jeopardy. 
                                       
 

 

Hand from Heaven: The Birmingham Church Bombing

                        
During the Civil Rights movement of the 1950’s and 60’s the Black church was not only a place of worship. It was a place of refuge, a place where Blacks felt safe from the hatred of racism. That is, until the church became a meeting place for the struggle confront racial justice. As organizers started to go against the grain of the tradition of White supremacy, the church became a target of violence.

50 years ago on September 15th 1963, two weeks after the March on Washington,the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama was bombed.  It was Youth Day and four girls in attendance that day were killed. The bodies of Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson and Cynthia Weslely lied lifeless in the sanctuary. As sacrifices for justice on earth, their spirits were safely taken to heaven by the hand of God.

As for the church, it was badly damaged. The blast had blown a hole in the back of its wall. The steps were demolished and every glass structure was shattered, except for one stained-glass window. On it was a picture of Christ. He was leading a group of small children. The story of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing is told in the documentary 4 Little Girls.


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