going 10,000 miles from home to help murder and burn another poor nation simply
to continue the domination of white slave masters of the darker people the world
over. This is the day when such evils must come to an end. I have been warned
that to take such a stand would cost me millions of dollars. But I have said it once
and I will say it again. The real enemy of my people is here. I will not disgrace my
religion, my people or myself by becoming a tool to enslave those who are
fighting for their own justice, freedom and equality… If I thought the war was
going to bring freedom and equality to 22 million of my people they wouldn't have
to draft me, I'd join tomorrow. I have nothing to lose by standing up for my beliefs.
So I'll go to jail, so what? We've been in jail for 400 years.
to continue the domination of white slave masters of the darker people the world
over. This is the day when such evils must come to an end. I have been warned
that to take such a stand would cost me millions of dollars. But I have said it once
and I will say it again. The real enemy of my people is here. I will not disgrace my
religion, my people or myself by becoming a tool to enslave those who are
fighting for their own justice, freedom and equality… If I thought the war was
going to bring freedom and equality to 22 million of my people they wouldn't have
to draft me, I'd join tomorrow. I have nothing to lose by standing up for my beliefs.
So I'll go to jail, so what? We've been in jail for 400 years.
On June 19, 1967, an all-white jury in Houston found Muhammad Ali guilty for refusing to
submit to the military draft. Although the standard sentence for such a charge was 18 months,
Ali was given 5 years, his passport was confiscated, and he was stripped of the heavyweight
title… eventually leading to three-and-a-half years of inactivity in the prime of his athletic life.
All because he stood up for what he believed in.
Ali was roasted by the American press but his stance had immediate global impact.
“When Ali refused to take that symbolic step forward everyone knew about it moments later,” said
civil rights leader, Julian Bond. “You could hear people talking about it on street corners. It was on
everybody's lips. People who had never thought about the war — black and white — began to
think it through because of Ali.”
submit to the military draft. Although the standard sentence for such a charge was 18 months,
Ali was given 5 years, his passport was confiscated, and he was stripped of the heavyweight
title… eventually leading to three-and-a-half years of inactivity in the prime of his athletic life.
All because he stood up for what he believed in.
Ali was roasted by the American press but his stance had immediate global impact.
“When Ali refused to take that symbolic step forward everyone knew about it moments later,” said
civil rights leader, Julian Bond. “You could hear people talking about it on street corners. It was on
everybody's lips. People who had never thought about the war — black and white — began to
think it through because of Ali.”
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