‘A solo voice can do so much.’ Illinois leaders and activists honor MLK and Muhammad Ali on boxer’s first state holiday
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Illinois leaders of color came together in a panel discussion Monday to discuss how to honor the legacy of social justice icons Martin Luther King Jr. and Muhammad Ali, on an overlapping day of celebration.
The Illinois Muslim Civic Coalition, which hosted the virtual panel at the Chicago History Museum, was the lead advocate for making Ali’s birthday, Jan. 17, a state holiday. This year, the first year since the legislation passed, Ali’s birthday also fell on the third Monday of January — Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
“While we may honor both champions of civic justice on the same day this year, make no mistake: The stage is large enough for these giants, for their stage was the world stage,” said Dilara Sayeed, president and co-founder of the coalition.
In a recorded video message at the virtual event, civil rights activist the Rev. Jesse Jackson called Ali “a champion in the ring” and “a hero outside of the ring.”
The advocates on the panel stressed the need for both legislative and nonlegislative action as means of change.
“I know a lot of people are disenchanted with government, and people are disappointed. And I get that way as well,” said Maryum Ali, one of Muhammad Ali’s daughter who works as a social worker and activist. “But policy laws impact us whether we are disenchanted or not.”
People should be informed in voting, she said, and learn history — both the history of racism, beyond what’s taught in schools — and for people of color, their own history of overcoming those barriers.
It’s not just individuals in elected positions who can create change, said panelist Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton. Anyone can protest, assist protesters, or use their talents in writing or the arts “to bring real greatness and change to our world,” she said.
Advocacy for systemic change “requires everybody doing a little something,” Stratton said. “It is sustained action that must take place.”
Maaria Mozaffar, an attorney and director of advocacy for the coalition, said helping to write the legislation in Ali’s honor reminded her of the power of individuals, when speaking the truth isn’t always popular.
“It just reminds us that a solo voice can do so much,” Mozaffar said.
Multiple panelists highlighted Ali’s and King’s young age when they began their advocacy.
Both rose to leadership positions by their mid-20s, Chicago History Museum President Donald Lassere said.
“That, to me, is what’s most remarkable,” said Greg Kelley, president of the Service Employees International Union in Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Kansas. “They were young men, who led and fought at a young age.”
Ali and King met and interacted earlier than many people realize, Lassere said.
The FBI surveilled both men illegally, Lassere said, recording that King sent Ali a note to be safe during one of Ali’s earliest fights. And while the two men saw many issues differently, Ali’s opposition to the Vietnam War helped inspire King to take his own stand, Lassere said.
They also reached out to each other in times of need: King to Ali when Ali was stripped of a boxing title for opposition to the Vietnam War, and Ali to King when King was in jail for his civil rights activism, Sayeed said.
Panelists painted Ali’s legacy as one of personal inspiration, as well as social change.
Maryum Ali described her father as someone who often questioned his children on their purpose, a reader who went through books as he worked through his own spirituality, despite having dyslexia.
Lassere told a story of how Ali inspired a woman who had previously failed to row across the Atlantic Ocean to try again, to change her legacy.
“He had the ability to inspire people to do things that they didn’t believe they could do,” Lassere said.
The legislation to make Ali’s birthday a holiday passed unanimously in Illinois, according to the coalition. The organization has received interest from legislative teams and advocacy groups with interest in introducing similar bills in other states, Mozaffar said.
In the face of Islamophobia, the intent of making Ali’s birthday a holiday “was to remind our state and our great nation that America’s champ, a man known for his work ethic, skill and principle, was a proud African American Muslim,” Mozaffar said. “And we say this loudly to all of the young Muslim boys and girls.”
