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Muhammad Ali And The Draft Essay

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Amanda Kahlowsky Mrs. Tacher Composition and Grammar Period 6 20 November 2017 Muhammad Ali and the Draft Cassius Clay, now known as Muhammad Ali, stated, “If I thought going to war would bring freedom, justice, and equality to the 22 million African Americans they wouldn't have to draft me, I would join tomorrow (Dellinger)” It is clear in this quote that Ali wanted nothing more than to avoid war unless it meant something important to him. At that time in history there was a lot going on in the world, and one of those things was Muhammad Ali refusing to go to the draft. Cassius Clay (now known as Muhammad Ali), an African American boxing champion who lived most of his young life during the Civil Rights movement, refused to join the …show more content…

One source quoted, “The Civil Rights Act of 1964, which ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin, is considered one of the crowning legislative achievements of the civil rights movement (Civil Rights Act).” This act proves that the government was trying to make America a place of equality to all human beings. From this background comes an amazing story about how Ali has fought for his religion. Moving on, Muhammad Ali was drafted to the Vietnam war. As quoted by one source, “On April 28, 1967, boxing champion Muhammad Ali refuses to be inducted into the U.S. Army and is immediately stripped of his heavyweight title (Muhammad Ali refuses Army induction)”. The reason why he refused to go was because of his religion. Because of his actions he went to prison for five years, he had a 10,000 dollar fee, and his boxing career was slowly stripped away from him. In those years in prison he was fighting for his rights of religion in court. Hampton Dellinger reported, “On April 19, 1971, Chauncey Eskridge argued before the Supreme Court that Muhammad Ali was a legitimate conscientious objector, forbidden to fight by a religion in which he fervently believed (Dellinger).” This shows that Chauncey Eskridge was supporting Muhammad Ali’s right of religion by helping him in court to prove that religion was an important part of life. From this conflict involving Ali comes a great

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