Misplaced Pages

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122-461: The Louisville Loop is a planned 110-mile (180 km) bike and pedestrian trail which will circle the city of Louisville, Kentucky when completed, using the trail to connect many of the city's existing parks and future parks. The city's first bike path effort, Beargrass Bikeway, which connects Cherokee Park to the Belvedere , was opened in 1980 but received little use. The section connecting

244-429: A "no-knock" search warrant which led to the killing of Breonna Taylor , a 26-year-old African-American woman. For months afterward, Taylor's family, members of the local community, and people around the world protested to demand that officers involved in the shooting be fired and criminally charged. These protests and demonstrations coincided and intertwined with the international George Floyd protests , as well as

366-461: A "bum". He said he was embarrassed to get in the ring with Alex Miteff and claimed that Madison Square Garden was "too small for me". Ali's trash talk was inspired by professional wrestler "Gorgeous George" Wagner 's, after he saw George's talking ability attract huge crowds to events. In a 1969 interview he stated that he met with George in Las Vegas in 1961, that George told him that talking

488-455: A $ 1 million lawsuit against radio producer Murray Woroner by accepting $ 10,000 to appear in a privately staged fantasy fight against retired champion Rocky Marciano. In 1969 the boxers were filmed sparring for about 75 one-minute rounds; they produced several potential outcomes. A computer program purportedly determined the winner, based on data about the fighters, along with the opinions of approximately 250 boxing experts. Edited versions of

610-514: A $ 10,000 fine. He paid a bond and remained free while the verdict was being appealed. My enemy is the white people, not Viet Cong or Chinese or Japanese. You my opposer when I want freedom. You my opposer when I want justice. You my opposer when I want equality. You won't even stand up for me in America for my religious beliefs—and you want me to go somewhere and fight, but you won't even stand up for me here at home? —Muhammad Ali to

732-615: A 1962 match. These early fights were not without trials. Clay was knocked down by both Sonny Banks and Cooper. In the Cooper fight, Clay was floored by a left hook at the end of round four and was saved by the bell, going on to win in the predicted fifth round due to Cooper's severely cut eye. The fight with Doug Jones on March 13, 1963, was Clay's toughest fight during this stretch. The number two and three heavyweight contenders respectively, Clay and Jones fought on Jones' home turf at New York's Madison Square Garden . Jones staggered Clay in

854-464: A 1974 interview, Ali said, "If they say stand and salute the flag I do that out of respect, because I'm in the country". Ali would later say, "If America was in trouble and real war came, I'd be on the front line if we had been attacked. But I could see that [the Vietnam War] wasn't right." He also said, "Black men would go over there and fight, but when they came home, they couldn't even be served

976-439: A barbarous display of cruelty." Ali denied the accusations of cruelty but, for Ali's critics, the fight provided more evidence of his arrogance. After Ali's title defense against Zora Folley on March 22, he was stripped of his title due to his refusal to be drafted to army service. His boxing license was also suspended by the state of New York. He was convicted of draft evasion on June 20 and sentenced to five years in prison and

1098-566: A big game would earn paying fans who either wanted to see him win or wanted to see him lose, thus Clay transformed himself into a self-described "big-mouth and a bragger". In 1960, Clay left Moore's camp, partially due to Clay's refusal to do chores such as washing dishes and sweeping. To replace Moore, Clay hired Angelo Dundee to be his trainer. Clay had met Dundee in February 1957 during Clay's amateur career. Around this time, Clay sought longtime idol Sugar Ray Robinson to be his manager, but

1220-455: A block designated for whites. He was prosecuted and found guilty. The second case was planned to create a test case. William Warley , the president of the local chapter of the NAACP, tendered a purchase offer on a white block from Charles Buchanan, a white real estate agent. Warley also wrote a letter declaring his intention to build a house on that lot and reside there. With the understanding that

1342-681: A bout in Chicago on March 29, 1966 (the WBA, one of two boxing associations, had stripped Ali of his title following his joining the Nation of Islam). But in February Ali was reclassified by the Louisville draft board as 1-A from 1-Y, and he indicated that he would refuse to serve, commenting to the press, "I ain't got nothing against no Viet Cong ; no Viet Cong never called me nigger .", although

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1464-480: A boxing license in every state and stripped of his passport. As a result, he did not fight from March 1967 to October 1970—from ages 25 to almost 29—as his case worked its way through the appeals process before his conviction was overturned in 1971. During this time of inactivity, as opposition to the Vietnam War began to grow and Ali's stance gained sympathy, he spoke at colleges across the nation, criticizing

1586-451: A center of breeding high-quality livestock throughout the 19th century. Ten thousand spectators watched the first Derby, which Aristides won. On March 27, 1890, the city was devastated and its downtown nearly destroyed when what scientists now estimate was an F4 tornado tore through as part of the middle Mississippi Valley tornado outbreak . It is estimated that between 74 and 120 people were killed and 200 were injured. The damage cost

1708-481: A crowd of college students during his exile from boxing Ali registered for conscription in the United States military on his 18th birthday and was listed as 1-A in 1962. In 1964, he was reclassified as Class 1-Y (fit for service only in times of national emergency) after he failed the U.S. Armed Forces qualifying test because his writing and spelling skills were sub-standard, due to his dyslexia . (He

1830-456: A decline in local manufacturing. The West End and older areas of the South End, in particular, began to decline economically as many local factories closed. In 1974, a major (F4) tornado hit Louisville as part of the 1974 Super Outbreak of tornadoes that struck 13 states. It covered 21 miles (34 km) and destroyed several hundred homes in the Louisville area, causing two deaths. Since

1952-417: A hamburger." Ali's example inspired many black Americans and others. However, initially when he refused induction, he became arguably the most hated man in the country and received many death threats. People who supported Ali during this time were also threatened, including sports journalist Jerry Izenberg , whose columns defended Ali's decision not to serve. He wrote, "Bomb threats emptied our office, making

2074-578: A license to box in any state for over three years. On June 4, 1967, in a first for sports professionals, a group of high-profile African-American athletes including Jim Brown , Bill Russell , and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar , as well as one political leader, Carl Stokes , assembled with Ali at the Negro Industrial Economic Union in Cleveland for what became known as the " Cleveland Summit " or the "Muhammad Ali Summit". The meeting

2196-405: A more racially progressive city than other Southern cities, although only when black citizens accepted a lower status than white citizens. Many historians have referred to this "veil" of segregation as a "polite" racism . Historian George Wright stated that polite racism "often deluded both blacks and well-meaning whites into believing that real progress was being made in their city". For example, in

2318-988: A pioneer in hip hop . He often predicted in which round he would knock out his opponent. As a boxer, Ali was known for his unorthodox movement, fancy footwork, head movement, and rope-a-dope technique, among others. Outside boxing, Ali attained success as a spoken word artist, releasing two studio albums: I Am the Greatest! (1963) and The Adventures of Ali and His Gang vs. Mr. Tooth Decay (1976). Both albums received Grammy Award nominations. He also featured as an actor and writer, releasing two autobiographies. Ali retired from boxing in 1981 and focused on religion, philanthropy, and activism. In 1984, he made public his diagnosis of Parkinson's syndrome , which some reports attributed to boxing-related injuries, though he and his specialist physicians disputed this. He remained an active public figure globally, but in his later years made fewer public appearances as his condition worsened, and he

2440-660: A result of the training camp. In 1929, Louisville completed the lock and dam in the Falls of the Ohio and the city began referring to itself as "where Northern enterprise and Southern hospitality meet". Between the industrial boom of that year and through the Great Depression , Louisville gained 15,000 new residents, about 3% of them black, most fleeing poverty in rural areas. Throughout January 1937, 19.17 inches (48.7 cm) of rain fell in Louisville, and by January 27,

2562-760: A route along all of the Parkways, a section on River Road near the Water Company, and a connector route from Broad Run Park to around Beulah Church Road. Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky , sixth-most populous city in the Southeast , and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States . By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city , although by population density, it

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2684-439: A unanimous 15-round decision. Terrell claimed that early in the fight Ali deliberately thumbed him in the eye, forcing him to fight half-blind, and then, in a clinch, rubbed the wounded eye against the ropes. Because of Ali's apparent intent to prolong the fight to inflict maximum punishment, critics described the bout as "one of the ugliest boxing fights". Tex Maule later wrote: "It was a wonderful demonstration of boxing skill and

2806-638: A uniform and go ten thousand miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people in Vietnam while so-called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs and denied simple human rights?" Ali antagonized the white establishment in 1966 by refusing to be drafted into the U.S. military, citing his religious beliefs and opposition to American involvement in the Vietnam War . On April 28, 1967, Ali appeared in Houston for his scheduled induction into

2928-501: A year with high temperatures at or above 90 °F (32 °C). The mean annual temperature is 58.2 °F (14.6 °C), with an average annual snowfall of 12.7 inches (32 cm) and an average annual rainfall of 44.9 inches (1,140 mm). The wettest seasons are spring and summer, although rainfall is fairly constant year round. During the winter, particularly in January and February, several days of snow can be expected. January

3050-679: Is included in the Louisville–Elizabethtown–Madison, KY–IN Combined Statistical Area (CSA), which also includes the Elizabethtown, KY MSA, as well as the Madison, IN Micropolitan Statistical Area . The Louisville area is near several other urban areas, especially Frankfort, Kentucky (the state's capital); Cincinnati , Ohio (the two cities' metropolitan statistical areas almost border each other); Lexington, Kentucky ; Bowling Green, Kentucky ; Nashville, Tennessee ; and

3172-534: Is not uncommon, with occasional tornado outbreaks in the region. Winter typically brings a mix of rain, sleet, and snow, with occasional heavy snowfall and icing. Louisville averages 4.5 days with low temperatures dipping to 10 °F (−12 °C); the first and last freezes of the season on average fall on November   2 and April   5, respectively. Summer is typically hazy, hot, and humid with long periods of 90–100 °F (32–38 °C) temperatures and drought conditions at times. Louisville averages 38 days

3294-524: Is the 265th most dense city. Louisville is the historical county seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County , on the Indiana border. Named after King Louis XVI of France, Louisville was founded in 1778 by George Rogers Clark , making it one of the oldest cities west of the Appalachians . With the nearby Falls of the Ohio as the only major obstruction to river traffic between

3416-412: Is the coldest month, with a mean temperature of 34.9 °F (1.6 °C). July is the average hottest month with a mean of 79.3 °F (26.3 °C). The highest recorded temperature was 107 °F (42 °C), which last occurred on July 14, 1936, and the lowest recorded temperature was −22 °F (−30 °C) on January 19, 1994. In 2012, Louisville had the fourth-hottest summer on record, with

3538-464: Is the correct pronunciation for the name of the much smaller Louisville, Colorado ). There are also acceptable hybrid ways of saying the name, such as / ˈ l uː ə v ɪ l / LOO -ə-vil , a mixture of the first and second pronunciations. The dominant local pronunciation, the LOO -ə-vəl pronunciation is widely practiced and accepted. Some even refer to it as the "only" correct way to pronounce

3660-493: The 2000 census , Louisville had a population of 256,231, down from the 1990 census population of 269,063. Due to the city-county merger that occurred in 2003, which expanded the city limits, the city's population increased to 597,337 at the 2010 census count. Louisville is the largest city in Kentucky, with 17.1% of the state's total population as of 2010; the balance's percentage was 13.8%. The 2007 demographic breakdown for

3782-560: The Astrodome in Houston on November 14, 1966. The bout drew a record-breaking indoor crowd of 35,460 people. Williams had once been considered among the hardest punchers in the heavyweight division, but in 1964 he had been shot at point-blank range by a Texas policeman, resulting in the loss of one kidney and 3.0 metres (10 ft) of his small intestine. Ali dominated Williams, winning a third-round technical knockout in what some consider

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3904-544: The Black Lives Matter movement and a broader movement of racial unrest . As a result of the incident, the police chief was fired and four officers received federal charges, but no significant systemic changes were made. On April 10, 2023, a mass shooting occurred at the Old National Bank , killing five people, and injuring nine others. The suspect, who was a bank employee and who officials said

4026-599: The C-46 Commando cargo plane, among other aircraft. In 1946, the factory was sold to International Harvester , which began large-scale production of tractors and agricultural equipment. In 1950, the Census Bureau reported Louisville's population as 84.3% white and 15.6% black. Throughout the 1940s, there were more black police officers than any other Southern city, though they were allowed to patrol only black districts. This, in part, made Louisville seem like

4148-583: The COINTELPRO operations that included illegal spying on activists involved with the civil rights and anti-war movements. One of the COINTELPRO targets was Ali, and their activities included the FBI gaining access to his records as far back as elementary school; one such record mentioned him loving art as a child. In March 1966, Ali refused to be inducted into the armed forces . He was systematically denied

4270-422: The Falls of the Ohio . Louisville is an Upper South city located in a Southern state that is influenced by both Southern and Midwestern culture . It is sometimes referred to as either one of the northernmost Southern cities or as one of the southernmost Northern cities in the United States. Louisville is located in Kentucky's outer Bluegrass region . Its development has been influenced by its location on

4392-769: The Fight of the Century , the biggest boxing event up until then), the Thrilla in Manila , and his fight with George Foreman in The Rumble in the Jungle . Ali thrived in the spotlight at a time when many boxers let their managers do the talking, and he became renowned for his provocative and outlandish persona. He was famous for trash-talking , often free-styled with rhyme schemes and spoken word poetry , and has been recognized as

4514-594: The Indianapolis, Indiana area (especially Columbus, Indiana , to the north of Southern Indiana). The downtown business district of Louisville is located immediately south of the Ohio River and southeast of the Falls of the Ohio. Major roads extend outwards from the downtown area in all directions. The airport is about 6.75 miles (10.86 km) south of the downtown area. The industrial sections of town are to

4636-453: The March on Washington in two fists". Coretta Scott King added that Ali was "a champion of justice and peace and unity". In speaking of the cost on Ali's career of his refusal to be drafted, his trainer Angelo Dundee said, "One thing must be taken into account when talking about Ali: He was robbed of his best years, his prime years." Ali's promoter Bob Arum did not support Ali's choice at

4758-555: The Nation of Islam . Ali then faced a rematch with Liston scheduled for May 1965 in Lewiston, Maine . It had been scheduled for Boston the previous November, but was postponed for six months due to Ali's emergency surgery for a hernia three days before. The fight was controversial. Midway through the first round, Liston was knocked down by a difficult-to-see blow the press dubbed a "phantom punch". Referee Jersey Joe Walcott did not begin

4880-666: The Southern National Bank building. The buildings of West Main Street in downtown Louisville have the largest collection of cast iron facades of anywhere outside of New York's SoHo neighborhood. Since the mid-20th century, Louisville has in some ways been divided into three sides of town: the West End, the South End, and the East End. In 2003, Bill Dakan, a University of Louisville geography professor, said that

5002-596: The incorporated cities outside the " balance " which make up Louisville proper. The city's total consolidated population as of the 2020 census was 782,969. However, the balance total of 633,045 excludes other incorporated places within the county and is the population listed in most sources and national rankings. The Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) includes Louisville-Jefferson County and 12 surrounding counties , seven in Kentucky and five in Southern Indiana . As of 2023,

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5124-810: The light heavyweight gold medal in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. Clay's amateur record was 100 wins with five losses. In his 1975 autobiography he recalled that shortly after his return from the Rome Olympics, he threw his gold medal into the Ohio River after he and a friend were refused service at a "whites-only" restaurant and fought with a white gang. The story was later disputed, and several of his friends, including Bundini Brown and photographer Howard Bingham , denied it. Brown told Sports Illustrated writer Mark Kram, " Honkies sure bought into that one!" Thomas Hauser 's biography of Ali stated that Ali

5246-430: The "real training", eventually molding "my style, my stamina and my system". For the last four years of Clay's amateur career he was trained by boxing cutman Chuck Bodak . Clay made his amateur boxing debut in 1954 against local amateur boxer Ronnie O'Keefe. He won by split decision. He went on to win six Kentucky Golden Gloves titles, two national Golden Gloves titles, an Amateur Athletic Union national title, and

5368-454: The 12-year-old fuming over a thief having taken his bicycle. He told the officer he was going to "whup" the thief. The officer told Clay he had better learn how to box first. Initially, Clay did not take up Martin's offer, but after seeing amateur boxers on a local television boxing program called Tomorrow's Champions , Clay was interested in the prospect of fighting. He then began to work with trainer Fred Stoner, whom he credits with giving him

5490-707: The 1980s, many of the city's urban neighborhoods have been revitalized into areas popular with young professionals and college students. The greatest change has occurred along the Bardstown Road/Baxter Avenue and Frankfort Avenue corridors as well as the Old Louisville neighborhood. In recent years, such change has also occurred in the East Market District (NuLu). Since the late 1990s, Downtown has experienced significant residential, tourist and retail growth, including

5612-403: The 287,012 households, 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.2% were married couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.2% were not families. About 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size

5734-799: The Belvedere to Shawnee Park was first proposed in 1988. The Louisville Loop currently extends a total of 30 miles from the Farnsley-Moremen House to Downtown. The first completed section of the Louisville Loop was created in the 1980s and is known as the Riverwalk . It is a 6.9-mile (11.1 km) bike and jogging trail running along the city's Ohio River waterfront from the Belvedere to Chickasaw Park . It passes through Lannan Park in Portland and Shawnee Park along

5856-648: The East End has been seen as middle and upper class . According to the Greater Louisville Association of Realtors, the area with the lowest median home sales price is west of Interstate 65, in the West and South Ends. The middle range of home sales prices are between Interstates 64 and 65 in the South and East Ends, and the highest median home sales price are north of Interstate 64 in the East End. Immigrants from Southeast Asia tend to settle in

5978-733: The Louisville Loop is the 3.6-mile (5.8 km) Levee Trail , which spanning the flood protection from runs from Riverside Park in Pleasure Ridge Park to the Farnsley-Moremen House to Lees Lane. In 2007, the 10-mile (16 km) Mill Creek Trail was completed, connecting the Levee Trail and The Riverwalk, ending at Lee Lane in Riverside Gardens . A small stretch of the Mill Creek Trail had been completed in 2002 by LG&E , on whose property much of

6100-472: The Louisville ordinance made it illegal for him to live there, Warley withheld payment, setting in motion a breach of contract suit by Buchanan. By 1917 the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the case of Buchanan v. Warley . The court struck down the Louisville residential segregation ordinance, ruling that it violated the Fourteenth Amendment 's due process clause. In 1917, shortly after

6222-540: The MSA had a population of 1,365,557, the 43rd largest in the nation . The correct pronunciation of the name of Louisville is heatedly debated. The three most popular pronunciations are, in order: All three are generally considered acceptable; the Louisville Visitor Center says that only the rare / ˈ l uː ɪ s v ɪ l / LOO -iss-vil is completely unacceptable (though it

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6344-588: The Minaret program concluded that it was "disreputable if not outright illegal". In 1971, Ali's Fight of the Century with Frazier was used by an activist group, the Citizens' Commission to Investigate the FBI , to pull off a burglary at an FBI office in Pennsylvania; the anticipation for the fight was unlike anything else, so they believed the security would also be focused on the fight. This raid exposed

6466-403: The Ohio River crested at a record 57.15 feet (17.42 m), almost 30 feet (9.1 m) above flood stage. These events triggered the "Great Flood of 1937" , which lasted into early February. The flood submerged 60–70 percent of the city, caused complete loss of power for four days, and forced the evacuation of 175,000 or 230,000 residents, depending on sources. Ninety people died as a result of

6588-428: The Ohio River, which spurred Louisville's growth from an isolated camp site into a major shipping port. Much of the city is located on a very wide and flat floodplain surrounded by hill country on all sides. Much of the area was swampland that had to be drained as the city grew. In the 1840s, most creeks were rerouted or placed in canals to prevent flooding and disease outbreaks. Areas generally east of I-65 are above

6710-673: The South End, while immigrants from Eastern Europe settle in the East End. Louisville has a humid subtropical climate ( Köppen Cfa ), typical of the Upper South , and is located in USDA plant hardiness zones 6b and 7a. Springlike conditions typically begin in mid-to-late March, summer from mid-to-late-May to late September, with fall in the October–November period. Seasonal extremes in both temperature and precipitation are not uncommon during early spring and late fall; severe weather

6832-672: The U.S. Armed Forces, but he refused three times to step forward when his name was called. An officer warned him that he was committing a felony punishable by five years in prison and a fine of $ 10,000. Once more, Ali refused to budge when his name was called, and he was arrested. Later that same day, the New York State Athletic Commission suspended his boxing license and the World Boxing Association stripped him of his title. Other boxing commissions followed suit. Ali remained unable to obtain

6954-489: The United States' entry into World War I , Louisville was selected as the site of Camp Zachary Taylor. Camp Taylor was one of the country's largest World War I training camps. It was home of the 84th Infantry Division and trained over 150,000 men by the end of war, including F. Scott Fitzgerald . The camp was closed in 1921. Many of the buildings and infrastructure in the Camp Taylor neighborhood of Louisville are there as

7076-566: The Vietnam War and advocating African American pride and racial justice. Ali based himself in Chicago. According to most close to him, his Chicago years were formative. At the time, Ali was widely condemned by the American media , with fears that his actions could potentially lead to mass civil disobedience . Despite this, Ebony magazine noted in the late 1960s that Ali's popularity had increased during this time, especially among black people. While banned from sanctioned bouts, Ali settled

7198-543: The West End, west of 7th Street and north of Algonquin Parkway, is "a euphemism for the African American part of town" although he points out that this belief is not entirely true, and most African Americans no longer live in areas where more than 80% of residents are black. Nevertheless, he says the perception is still strong. The South End has long had a reputation as a white, working-class part of town, while

7320-493: The addition of major sports complexes KFC Yum! Center , Lynn Family Stadium and Louisville Slugger Field , conversion of waterfront industrial sites into Waterfront Park , openings of varied museums (see Museums, galleries and interpretive centers below), and the refurbishing of the former Galleria into the bustling entertainment complex Fourth Street Live! , which opened in 2004. On March 13, 2020, four plainclothed officers from Louisville Metro Police Department executed

7442-625: The army and publicly considered himself a conscientious objector . Ali stated: "War is against the teachings of the Qur'an . I'm not trying to dodge the draft. We are not supposed to take part in no wars unless declared by Allah or The Messenger. We don't take part in Christian wars or wars of any unbelievers". He also said, "We are not to be the aggressor but we will defend ourselves if attacked." He stated: "Man, I ain't got no quarrel with them Vietcong." Ali elaborated: "Why should they ask me to put on

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7564-408: The beginning of the third round Clay hit Liston with a combination that buckled his knees and opened a cut under his left eye. This was the first time Liston had ever been cut. At the end of round four, Clay was returning to his corner when he began experiencing blinding pain in his eyes and asked his trainer, Angelo Dundee , to cut off his gloves. Dundee refused. It has been speculated that the problem

7686-421: The bell for the seventh round, and Clay was declared the winner by TKO . Liston stated that the reason he quit was an injured shoulder. Following the win, a triumphant Clay rushed to the edge of the ring and, pointing to the ringside press, shouted: "Eat your words!" He added, "I am the greatest! I shook up the world. I'm the prettiest thing that ever lived." At ringside post fight, Clay appeared unconvinced that

7808-401: The bout. The outcome of the fight was a major upset. At the opening bell, Liston rushed at Clay, seemingly angry and looking for a quick knockout. However, Clay's superior speed and mobility enabled him to elude Liston, making the champion miss and look awkward. At the end of the first round, Clay opened up his attack and hit Liston repeatedly with jabs. Liston fought better in round two, but at

7930-755: The case was reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1971. Ali remained free in the years between the Appellate Court decision and the Supreme Court ruling. As public opinion began turning against the war and the Civil Rights Movement continued to gather momentum, Ali became a popular speaker at colleges and universities across the country; this itinerary was rare if not unprecedented for a prizefighter. At Howard University , for example, he gave his popular "Black Is Best" speech to 4,000 cheering students and community intellectuals, after he

8052-417: The causes with young people that nothing else could have done. Even those who were assassinated, certainly lost their lives, but they didn't voluntarily do that. He knew he was going to jail and did it anyway. That's another level of leadership and sacrifice. Ali was honored with the annual Martin Luther King Award in 1970 by civil rights leader Ralph Abernathy , who called him "a living example of soul power,

8174-495: The city Jim Crow practices were not maintained by law so much as by custom. Similar to many other older American cities, Louisville began to experience a movement of people and businesses to the suburbs in the 1960s and 1970s. Middle class residents used newly built freeways and interstate highways to commute to work, moving into more distant but newer housing. Because of tax laws, businesses found it cheaper to build new rather than renovate older buildings. Economic changes included

8296-411: The city $ 2.5 million (equivalent to $ 69 million in 2019). Established in 1896, Neighborhood House Louisville was the first settlement movement house in the state. Following the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation, freed slaves settled in a neighborhood of Louisville called Little Africa, nicknamed "the gateway to the South," near the present neighborhood of Park DuValle . The neighborhood

8418-500: The city's main commercial airport, hosts UPS's worldwide hub. Since 2003, Louisville's borders have been the same as those of Jefferson County, after a city-county merger . The official name of this consolidated city-county government is the Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government, abbreviated to Louisville Metro. Despite the merger and renaming, the term "Jefferson County" continues to be used in some contexts in reference to Louisville Metro, particularly including

8540-477: The count immediately after the knockdown, as Ali refused to retreat to a neutral corner. Liston rose after he had been down for about 20 seconds, and the fight momentarily continued. However a few seconds later Walcott, having been informed by the timekeepers that Liston had been down for a count of 10, stopped the match and declared Ali the winner by knockout. The entire fight lasted less than two minutes. It has since been speculated that Liston purposely dropped to

8662-523: The covenant of its founding principles?" Recalling Ali's anti-war position, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said: "I remember the teachers at my high school didn't like Ali because he was so anti-establishment and he kind of thumbed his nose at authority and got away with it. The fact that he was proud to be a black man and that he had so much talent   ... made some people think that he was dangerous. But for those very reasons I enjoyed him." Civil rights figures came to believe that Ali had an energizing effect on

8784-583: The decision to the Supreme Court , where his conviction was overturned in 1971. He did not fight for nearly four years and lost a period of peak performance as an athlete. Ali's actions as a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War made him an icon for the larger counterculture of the 1960s generation, and he was a very high-profile figure of racial pride for African Americans during the civil rights movement and throughout his career. He fought in several historic boxing matches, including his highly publicized fights with Sonny Liston, Joe Frazier (including

8906-477: The entire Louisville Metro area was 74.8% White (71.7% non-Hispanic), 22.2% African American, 0.6% Native American, 2.0% Asian, 0.1% Hawaiian or Pacific islander, 1.4% other, and 1.6% multiracial. About 2.9% of the total population was identified as Hispanic of any race. During the same year, the area of premerger Louisville consisted 60.1% White, 35.2% African American, 1.9% Asian, 0.2% Native American, and 3.0% other, with 2.4% identified as Hispanic of any race. Of

9028-430: The falls. By 1828, the population had grown to 7,000 and Louisville became an incorporated city. Early Louisville was a major shipping port and enslaved African Americans worked in a variety of associated trades. The city was often a point of escape for fugitive slaves to the north, as Indiana was a free state. During this point in the 1850s, the city was growing and vibrant, but that also came with negativity. It

9150-432: The fight was stopped due to a Liston shoulder injury, saying that the only injury Liston had was "an open eye, a big cut eye!" When told by Joe Louis that the injury was a "left arm thrown out of its socket," Clay quipped, "Yeah, swinging at nothing, who wouldn't?" In winning this fight at the age of 22, Clay became the youngest boxer to take the title from a reigning heavyweight champion. However, Floyd Patterson remained

9272-422: The fight. Patterson biographer W. K. Stratton claims that the conflict between Ali and Patterson was not genuine but was staged to increase ticket sales and the closed-circuit viewing audience, with both men complicit in the theatrics. Stratton also cites an interview by Howard Cosell in which Ali explained that rather than toying with Patterson, he refrained from knocking him out after it became apparent Patterson

9394-428: The finest performance of his career. Ali fought Terrell in Houston on February 6, 1967. Terrell, who was unbeaten in five years and had defeated many of the boxers Ali had faced, was billed as Ali's toughest opponent since Liston; he was big, strong and had a three-inch reach advantage over Ali. During the lead up to the bout, Terrell repeatedly called Ali "Clay", much to Ali's annoyance. The two almost came to blows over

9516-463: The first one was "correct". LUUV -əl is a less common, particularly rural way of saying the name. While it is considered acceptable, it is not as widely heard as the others. The history of Louisville spans hundreds of years, and has been influenced by the area's geography and proximity to the Falls of the Ohio River . Since the Falls created a barrier to river travel, settlements grew at this portage point. The first European settlement in

9638-515: The first round, and the unanimous decision for Clay was greeted by boos and a rain of debris thrown into the ring. Watching on closed-circuit TV, heavyweight champ Sonny Liston quipped that if he fought Clay he (Liston) might get locked up for murder. The fight was later named "Fight of the Year" by The Ring magazine. In each of these fights, Clay vocally belittled his opponents and vaunted his abilities. He called Jones "an ugly little man" and Cooper

9760-506: The flood plain, and are composed of gently rolling hills. The southernmost parts of Jefferson County are in the scenic and largely undeveloped Knobs region , which is home to Jefferson Memorial Forest . The Louisville-Jefferson County, KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), the 43rd largest in the United States, includes the Kentucky county of Jefferson ( coterminous with Louisville Metro), plus twelve outlying counties—seven in Kentucky and five in Southern Indiana . Louisville's MSA

9882-575: The flood. It led to dramatic changes in where residents lived. Today, the city is protected by numerous flood walls . After the flood, the areas of high elevation in the eastern part of the city had decades of residential growth. Louisville was a center for factory war production during World War II. In May 1942, the U.S. government assigned the Curtiss-Wright Aircraft Company, a war plant located at Louisville's air field, for wartime aircraft production. The factory produced

10004-473: The freedom movement as a whole. Al Sharpton spoke of his bravery at a time when there was still widespread support for the Vietnam War: For the heavyweight champion of the world, who had achieved the highest level of athletic celebrity, to put all of that on the line—the money, the ability to get endorsements—to sacrifice all of that for a cause, gave a whole sense of legitimacy to the movement and

10126-419: The ground. Proposed motivations include threats on his life from the Nation of Islam, that he had bet against himself and that he "took a dive" to pay off debts. Slow-motion replays show that Liston was jarred by a chopping right from Ali, although it is unclear whether the blow was a genuine knockout punch. Ali defended his title against former heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson on November 22, 1965. Before

10248-406: The local indigenous population, but they moved out by the late 1780s. In 1803, explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark organized their expedition across America in the town of Clarksville, Indiana at the present-day Falls of the Ohio opposite Louisville, Kentucky. The city's early growth was influenced by the fact that river boats had to be unloaded and moved downriver before reaching

10370-442: The match, Ali mocked Patterson, who was widely known to call him by his former name Cassius Clay, as an " Uncle Tom ", calling him "The Rabbit". Although Ali had the better of Patterson, who appeared injured during the fight, the match lasted 12 rounds before being called on a technical knockout. Patterson later said he had strained his sacroiliac . Ali was criticized in the sports media for appearing to have toyed with Patterson during

10492-495: The mid-1970s. He won the world heavyweight championship, defeating Sonny Liston in a major upset on February 25, 1964, at age 22. During that year, he denounced his birth name as a " slave name " and formally changed his name to Muhammad Ali. In 1967, Ali refused to be drafted into the military, owing to his religious beliefs and ethical opposition to the Vietnam War , and was found guilty of draft evasion and stripped of his boxing titles. He stayed out of prison while appealing

10614-425: The name issue in a pre-fight interview with Howard Cosell. Ali seemed intent on humiliating Terrell. "I want to torture him", he said. "A clean knockout is too good for him." The fight was close until the seventh round, when Ali bloodied Terrell and almost knocked him out. In the eighth round, Ali taunted Terrell, hitting him with jabs and shouting between punches, "What's my name, Uncle Tom ... what's my name?" Ali won

10736-581: The name of the city. LOO -ee-vil , while respecting the proper pronunciation of the name of the French king who gave Louisville its name, is significantly less common among locals. It is, however, frequently used by those not from the area. In 2001, local journalist and historian George H. Yater noted that older natives tended toward the second pronunciation, and that both the first and second pronunciations were used equally in local radio and television broadcasting; however, new personalities were taught that

10858-489: The second part is probably apocryphal. Amidst the media and public outcry over Ali's stance, the Illinois Athletic Commission refused to sanction the fight, citing technicalities. Instead, Ali traveled to Canada and Europe and won championship bouts against George Chuvalo , Henry Cooper , Brian London , and Karl Mildenberger . Ali returned to the United States to fight Cleveland Williams at

10980-484: The south and west of the airport, while most of the residential areas of the city are to the southwest, south, and east of downtown. In 2010, the 22,000-seat KFC Yum! Center was completed. Twelve of the 15 buildings in Kentucky over 300 feet (91 m) are located in downtown Louisville. Another primary business and industrial district is located in the suburban area east of the city on Hurstbourne Parkway. Louisville's late 19th- and early 20th-century development

11102-412: The staff stand out in the snow. My car windshield was smashed with a sledgehammer." The New York Times columnist William Rhoden wrote, "Ali's actions changed my standard of what constituted an athlete's greatness. Possessing a killer jump shot or the ability to stop on a dime was no longer enough. What were you doing for the liberation of your people? What were you doing to help your country live up to

11224-486: The state of Kentucky. Clay's father's paternal grandparents were John Clay and Sallie Anne Clay; Clay's sister Eva claimed that Sallie was a native of Madagascar . He was a descendant of slaves of the antebellum South , and was predominantly of African descent, with Irish and English family heritage. His maternal great-grandfather, Abe Grady, emigrated from Ennis , County Clare , Ireland. DNA testing performed in 2018 showed that, through his paternal grandmother, Clay

11346-546: The temperature rising up to 106 °F (41 °C) in July and the June all-time monthly record high temperature being broken on two consecutive days. As the city exemplifies the urban heat island effect, temperatures in commercial areas and in the industrialized areas along interstates are often higher than in the suburbs, often as much as 5 °F (2.8 °C). Between 1970 and 2000, Louisville lost population each decade. As of

11468-408: The time, but in 2016 Arum stated: "when I look back at his life, and I was blessed to call him a friend and spent a lot of time with him, it's hard for me to talk about his exploits in boxing because as great as they were they paled in comparison to the impact that he had on the world. ... He did what he thought was right. And it turned out he was right, and I was wrong." Ali's resistance to the draft

11590-610: The trail is located, which ran from Greenwood Rd. to Mill Creek. An extension added by the city in 2007 included a $ 2 million bridge over Mill Creek. The total trail length for a completed Louisville Loop is estimated at 100 miles. The Louisville Loop has construction underway, as of 2023, for McCrawly Lake, connecting the Middletown section to the Beckley Creek Park section, and the rest of Algonquin Parkway. Jefferson Memorial Forest portions are being designed, as well as

11712-752: The upper Ohio River and the Gulf of Mexico , the settlement first grew as a portage site. It was the founding city of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad , which grew into a 6,000-mile (9,700 km) system across 13 states. Today, the city is known as the home of boxer Muhammad Ali , the Kentucky Derby , Kentucky Fried Chicken , the University of Louisville and its Cardinals , Louisville Slugger baseball bats, and Fortune 500 company Humana . Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport ,

11834-638: The vicinity of modern-day Louisville was on Corn Island in 1778 by Col. George Rogers Clark, credited as the founder of Louisville. Several landmarks in the community are named after him. Two years later, in 1780, the Virginia General Assembly approved the town charter of Louisville. The city was named in honor of King Louis XVI of France, whose soldiers were then aiding Americans in the Revolutionary War . Early residents lived in forts to protect themselves from raids from

11956-554: The war was over. The first Kentucky Derby was held on May 17, 1875, at the Louisville Jockey Club track (later renamed Churchill Downs ). The Derby was originally shepherded by Meriwether Lewis Clark Jr. , the grandson of William Clark of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and grandnephew of the city's founder George Rogers Clark. Horse racing had a strong tradition in Kentucky, whose Inner Bluegrass Region had been

12078-547: The way. A portion of the trail runs along city streets Portland, with about 0.4 miles (0.64 km) of the total route existing on city sidewalks. The trail passes through the former Portland Wharf area, which was razed for I-64 development, and the old street grid is still visible. Along the way, there are mileage markers on the surface of the trail every tenth of a mile, as well as markers giving information on 19th century river culture, such as units of measurement, river jobs, and types of riverboats. The second oldest section of

12200-544: The youngest to win the heavyweight championship, doing so at the age 21 during an elimination bout following Rocky Marciano 's retirement. Mike Tyson broke both records in 1986 when he defeated Trevor Berbick to win the heavyweight title at age 20. The feat also made Clay the fastest boxer to win the championship (non-vacant) in the modern era, doing so in 20 bouts. Soon after the Liston fight, Clay changed his name to Cassius X, and then later to Muhammad Ali upon converting to

12322-444: Was 2.97. The age distribution is 24.3% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 30.4% from 25 to 44, 22.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.60 males. Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali ( / ɑː ˈ l iː / ; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. ; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016)

12444-402: Was a Methodist , he allowed Odessa to bring up both Cassius Jr. and his younger brother, Rudolph "Rudy" Clay (later renamed Rahaman Ali), as Baptists . Cassius Jr. attended Central High School in Louisville. He was dyslexic , which led to difficulties in reading and writing, at school and for much of his life. He grew up amid racial segregation . His mother recalled one occasion when he

12566-505: Was a descendant of the former slave Archer Alexander , who had been chosen from the building crew as the model of a freed man for the Emancipation Memorial , and was the subject of abolitionist William Greenleaf Eliot 's book, The Story of Archer Alexander: From Slavery to Freedom . His father was a sign and billboard painter, and his mother, Odessa O'Grady Clay (1917–1994), was a domestic helper. Although Cassius Sr.

12688-533: Was a major stronghold of Union forces , which kept Kentucky firmly in the Union. By the end of the war, the city of Louisville itself had not been attacked, although skirmishes and battles, including the battles of Perryville and Corydon , took place nearby. After the war, returning Confederate veterans largely took political control of the city, leading to the jibe that Louisville joined the Confederacy after

12810-540: Was an 8:1 underdog. Despite this, Clay taunted Liston during the pre-fight buildup, dubbing him "the big ugly bear", claiming "Liston even smells like a bear" and "I'm gonna give him to the local zoo after I whup him." Clay turned the pre-fight weigh-in into a circus, shouting at Liston that "someone is going to die at ringside tonight." Clay's pulse rate was measured at 120, more than double his normal 54. Many of those in attendance thought Clay's behavior stemmed from fear, and some commentators wondered if he would show up for

12932-510: Was an American professional boxer . Nicknamed " the Greatest ", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century. Widely regarded as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time, he held the Ring magazine heavyweight title from 1964 to 1970. He was the undisputed champion from 1974 to 1978 and the WBA and Ring heavyweight champion from 1978 to 1979. In 1999, he

13054-417: Was cared for by his family. Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. ( / ˈ k æ ʃ ə s / ) was born on January 17, 1942, in Louisville, Kentucky . He had one brother. He was named after his father, Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr. (1912–1990), who had a sister and four brothers and who himself was named in honor of the 19th-century Republican politician and staunch abolitionist Cassius Marcellus Clay , also from

13176-588: Was covered in the 2013 documentary The Trials of Muhammad Ali . In a secret operation code-named " Minaret ", the National Security Agency (NSA) intercepted the communications of leading Americans, including Ali, Senators Frank Church and Howard Baker , Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. , prominent U.S. journalists, and others who criticized the U.S. war in Vietnam. A review by the NSA of

13298-511: Was denied a drink of water at a store: "They wouldn't give him one because of his color . That really affected him." He was also strongly affected by the 1955 murder of Emmett Till , which led to young Clay and a friend taking out their frustration by vandalizing a local rail yard. He once told his daughter Hana, "Nothing would ever shake me up (more) than the story of Emmett Till." Clay was first directed toward boxing by Louisville police officer and boxing coach Joe E. Martin , who encountered

13420-461: Was described as a "thriving community" by the 1920s, and declined between the 1940s and 1950s. In 1914, the city of Louisville passed a racially based residential zoning code, following Baltimore, Atlanta, and a handful of cities in the Carolinas. The NAACP challenged the ordinance in two cases. Two weeks after the ordinance enacted, an African-American named Arthur Harris moved into a house on

13542-473: Was due to ointment used to seal Liston's cuts, perhaps deliberately applied by his corner to his gloves. Though unconfirmed, boxing historian Bert Sugar said that two of Liston's opponents also complained about their eyes "burning". Despite Liston's attempts to knock out a blinded Clay, Clay was able to survive the fifth round until sweat and tears rinsed the irritation from his eyes. In the sixth, Clay dominated, hitting Liston repeatedly. Liston did not answer

13664-820: Was injured. Patterson later said that he had never been hit by punches as soft as Ali's. Stratton states that Ali arranged the second fight, in 1972, with the financially struggling Patterson to help the former champion earn enough money to pay a debt to the IRS . After the Patterson fight, Ali founded his own promotion company, Main Bout. The company mainly handled Ali's boxing promotions and pay-per-view closed-circuit television broadcasts. The company's stockholders were mainly fellow Nation of Islam members, along with several others, including Bob Arum . Ali and then- WBA heavyweight champion boxer Ernie Terrell had agreed to meet for

13786-590: Was invited to speak by sociology professor Nathan Hare on behalf of the Black Power Committee, a student protest group. On June 28, 1971, the Supreme Court of the United States in Clay v. United States overturned Ali's conviction by a unanimous 8–0 decision (Justice Thurgood Marshall recused himself, as he had been the U.S. Solicitor General at the time of Ali's conviction). The decision

13908-445: Was livestreaming the rampage, was killed by the police after exchanging fire with them. Louisville and Jefferson County have a combined area of 397.68 square miles (1,030.0 km ), of which 380.46 square miles (985.4 km ) is land and 17.23 square miles (44.6 km ) (4.33%) is covered by water. Louisville is southeasterly situated along the border between Kentucky and Indiana , the Ohio River , in north-central Kentucky at

14030-542: Was named Sportsman of the Century by Sports Illustrated and the Sports Personality of the Century by the BBC . Born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky , he began training as an amateur boxer at age 12. At 18, he won a gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the 1960 Summer Olympics and turned professional later that year. He joined the Nation of Islam in the early 1960s, but later disavowed it in

14152-549: Was not based on, nor did it address, the merits of Ali's claims per se. Rather, the Court held that since the appeal board gave no reason for the denial of a conscientious objector exemption to Ali, that it was therefore impossible to determine which of the three basic tests for conscientious objector status (offered in the Justice Department 's brief) the appeal board relied on, and Ali's conviction must be reversed. In

14274-473: Was organized by Brown for his peers to question Ali about the seriousness of his convictions, and to decide whether to support him, which they ultimately did. At the trial on June 20, 1967, the jury found Ali guilty after only 21   minutes of deliberation of the criminal offense of violating the Selective Service laws by refusing to be drafted. After a Court of Appeals upheld the conviction,

14396-497: Was quoted as saying, "I said I was the greatest, not the smartest!" ) By early 1966, the army lowered its standards to permit soldiers above the 15th percentile and Ali was again classified as 1-A. This classification meant he was now eligible for the draft and induction into the U.S. Army at a time when the U.S. was involved in the Vietnam War, a war which put him further at odds with the white establishment. When notified of this status, Ali declared that he would refuse to serve in

14518-512: Was rebuffed. By late 1963, Clay had become the top contender for Sonny Liston's title. The fight was set for February 25, 1964, in Miami Beach . Liston was an intimidating personality, a dominating fighter with a criminal past and ties to the mob. Based on Clay's uninspired performance against Jones and Cooper in his previous two fights, and Liston's destruction of former heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson in two first-round knockouts, Clay

14640-827: Was refused service at the diner but that he lost his medal a year after he won it. Ali received a replacement medal at the Georgia Dome during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta , where he lit the torch to start the Games. Clay made his professional debut on October 29, 1960, winning a six-round decision over Tunney Hunsaker . From then until the end of 1963, Clay amassed a record of 19–0 with 15 wins by knockout. He defeated boxers including Tony Esperti, Jim Robinson , Donnie Fleeman, Alonzo Johnson, George Logan, Willi Besmanoff, LaMar Clark , Doug Jones , and Henry Cooper . Clay also beat his former trainer and veteran boxer Archie Moore in

14762-493: Was spurred by three large suburban parks built at the edges of the city in 1890. The city's architecture contains a blend of old and new. The Old Louisville neighborhood is the largest historic preservation district solely featuring Victorian homes and buildings in the United States; it is also the third-largest district containing such architectural distinctions in the United States. Many modern skyscrapers are located downtown, as well as older preserved structures, such as

14884-540: Was the center of planning, supplies, recruiting, and transportation for numerous campaigns, especially in the Western Theater . Ethnic tensions rose, and on August 6, 1855, known as " Bloody Monday ", Protestant mobs attacked German and Irish Catholic neighborhoods on election day, resulting in 22 deaths and widespread property damage. Then by 1861, the civil war had broken out. During the Civil War , Louisville

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