Crucial to Ali’s connection to civil rights workers was their shared sense of urgency. Activists who were putting everything on the line, including their lives, could relate to Ali, who risked just about everything he had when he refused to be drafted into the Vietnam War. As Mississippi organiser Lawrence Guyot put it: “We were down there in these small, hot, dusty towns in an atmosphere thick with fear, trying to organise folk whose grandparents were slaves … And here was this beautifully arrogant young man who made us proud to be us and proud to fight for our rights.”

How Muhammad Ali influenced the Civil Rights Movement – Muhammad Ali galvanised the Civil Rights Movement by appealing to people who otherwise agreed on little politically. By Michael Ezra – Michael Ezra is the author of Muhammad Ali: The Making of an Icon and Civil Rights Movement: People and Perspectives.

“You lose when you fail to fight for what you care about.” #MuhammadAli

“If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it—then I can achieve it.” #MuhammadAli

“Success is not achieved by winning all the time. Real success comes when we rise after we fall.” #MuhammadAli

“True success is reaching our potential without compromising our values.” #MuhammadAli

“Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great…Let your greatness blossom.” @NelsonMandela #MandelaDay2015

“The more we help others, the more we help ourselves.” #MuhammadAli

“He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.” #MuhammadAli

“When a person has been blessed with a life as full and rich as mine, he can never give back enough.” #MuhammadAli