LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – Muhammad Ali’s legacy extends far beyond his sharp right jab, world titles, and Olympic gold, into the heart and compassion he offered long after the ring. Lonnie Ali, his wife, told the Associated Press this week ahead of the 10‑year anniversary of Ali’s death on June 3, 2016, after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.
“He transcended boxing into every space you can imagine,” Lonnie said during an interview at The Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky, where Ali was born and raised. “Muhammad lived by this mantra: service to others is the rent we pay for our room here on earth.” The veteran boxer “showed up every day with kindness and empathy for people in need.”
Known as the “Louisville Lip,” Ali rose to prominence as a trash‑talking world champion in the 1960s and began speaking about civil rights as his star grew. Widely regarded as the most famous basketball the greatest force in boxing history, he won the heavyweight title three times.
The Center is sponsoring a “Day of Compassion” on Wednesday— the 10th anniversary of his death— to promote acts of service and caring. Lonnie Ali, the Center’s lifetime director, said the hope is to create an expanding annual event that highlights work in service and volunteering.
“The day will focus on one of the core values that made up Muhammad Ali in an increasingly divided country,” she said. “Today we are losing touch with our humanity and each other. It’s causing rifts, not just in families and communities, but in the nation. We’re becoming increasingly polarized and separated, retreating to people who think like us, look like us, and not really reaching out.”
She challenged political leaders to lead with compassion, noting the recent Supreme Court weakening of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. “We should always be thinking about how we can uplift a community, not how we can make it harder for them,” she added. “We want equal representation in this country. You can’t have equal representation when you’re denying people voting rights.”
But she said hope exists. The city of Louisville once marked a weeklong celebration of Ali’s life in 2016, concluding with a funeral procession through the city and past the modest childhood home near downtown. Former President Bill Clinton, actor Billy Crystal, and Will Smith—who portrayed Ali in a 2001 film—speaked at the funeral. The ceremony was livestreamed to millions around the world.
A decade later, his face graced a U.S. Postal Service stamp, showing his enduring influence. “We’re talking about people who travelled thousands of miles to come here, who never met the man, never laid eyes on him personally, but wanted to give their last respects to him: kings, princes, presidents, heads of state, celebrities, sports figures,” Lonnie said.
}
