Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali, born Cassius Clay in January 1942 to a poor working class family in Louisville, Kentucky, eventually became probably the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time. The young Cassius Clay, who took the name Muhammad Ali when he acknowledged his memborship of the black nationalist Nation of Islam in 1964, was forced to take on the world, not just as an athlete, but as part of the struggle for black rights. His sucesses became a symbol of defiance and pride for black Americans and oppressed people around the world. (Pierre)
Pierre, Hugo. "Ali & the black struggles of the 1960s" Socialist View, 2002. http://www.geocities.com/socialistparty/Documents/Ali.htm
Picture: Muhammad Ali: Archives", Sports Illustrated, A CNN Network site, 2008 <http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/2005/11/22/gallery.tributeali/content.1.html>