Stinging Like a

ButterflyTHE LIFE AND TIMES OF MUHAMMAD ALI

“I‘m the greatest, I‘m abad man, and I‘m

pretty“

Nguzo Saba and Muhammad Ali

This model is a set of guidelines and a value system for healthy living that African Americans should strive for and live by.

Umoja (unity)

Muhammad Ali spent a lot of time in his childhood and early adulthood dreaming of standing up for his community and his

people against the backdrop of racial segregation

Ali grew up in Louisville in a racially segregated neighborhood.

“When stronger nations begin to care for weaker nations, we will

see unity. When people lend a helping hand without having to receive something in return, we will see humanity“

Kujichagulia (Self-Determination)

Ali states in, “The Innocence of Youth,” (09) section, that it is strange going out into a world that looked at black human

beings as second-class citizens but being raised with pride and self-awareness at home

Boxing underwater!

Ujima Collective Work and

Responsibility After Ali won Olympic gold, he

attempted to go downtown in his

hometown to eat and was turned away for the color of his skin. He stated that

"he had just won the gold medal for America, but he still couldn't eat at a

restaurant in his hometown, the town where they all knew his name, where he

was born in the hospital a few blocks away."

Ujamaa- Cooperative Economics

Ali states that The Nation of Islam teaches that integration only works when Black people have something for themselves. To

get help overall, Blacks needed to help themselves first.

-"The slum wasn't in the neighborhood; it was in the heart and soul of the people"

Nia-Purpose

He changed his name from Cassius Clay to

Muhammad Ali after hearing a Muslim minister make a

speech about how everyone, Chinese, Russian,

Cubans, had someplace they could call home but

blacks did not. The name Mr. Green or Mr. Jones could

be referring to a white or black man because in

slavery, the blacks were named after the white men.

Ali believed that his name represented hundreds of

years of injustice and enslavement. By changing his

name, Ali was helping to restore his people to their

traditional GREATNESS

Kuumba-Creativity

The way that they inherited their community, was in a time of segregation and hatred. Ali was taught from a child to never

hate anybody, no matter what. His goal in life was to make the community more beautiful and more beneficial than

when they inherited it by doing away with segregation. He wanted everyone to love everyone and treat each other

equally.

Ali’s Spirituality

Spirituality was a huge theme in this book and came up just as much and if not maybe more than it came up in our class

“A worldly loss often turns into a spiritual gain”

“I have always been a spiritual person; God doesn’t speak to me in a voice. It’s more like a feeling, a sense of what I have

to do.”

The Influence of Magic

Ali enjoyed magic and was a member of a magician’s union at some point but because he took his religion seriously he

would reveal how a trick was done since in Islam one is not suppose to deceive others and this led to him eventually

being kicked out of the union.

Imani -Faith

“It was faith that restored my sense of purpose and self-confidence. My faith gave me back my joy and enthusiasm

for life. I think maybe my Parkinson’s is God’s way of reminding me of what is important…”

Faith Continued

Ali's faith was in the Nation of Islam, whose focus was teaching Black pride and self-awareness. Ali believed with all his heart

in the people of the black community. He speaks of the importance of the influence of Elijah Muhammad and

Malcom X on his faith and his teachings.

He later expanded his faith into mainstream Sunni Islam, but his faith in God throughout his life, love for people, and drive

to be the best he could is what gives Muhammad Ali THE SOUL OF A BUTTERFLY

Parkinson's Disease

“The body and mind are only vehicles for experiencing life. This realization helps me to live

with Parkinson’s”

Parkinson’s Continued

“It was faith that restored my sense of purpose and self confidence, my faith gave me back my

joy and enthusiasm for life. I think that maybe my Parkinson’s is gods way of reminding me of what’s

important, for example how we treat each other. It slowed me down, and caused me to listen

rather than talk.”

Muhammad Ali at the

1996 Olympics