Muhammad Ali's Family Reflects on His Life and Legacy at Memorial Service
His wife, Lonnie Ali, told a story of a police officer who helped a young Ali.
— -- Muhammad Ali's family spoke passionately at an interfaith memorial service honoring the late legend at the KFC! Yum Center in Louisville, Kentucky, today.
Lonnie Ali, Ali's wife of 30 years, first thanked all of the messages of support that have come in over social media "in every language from every corner of the world."
Wearing pearls and a brimmed hat, Lonnie told a story of a man named Joe S.B. Martin, a white Louisville police officer who embraced a 12-year-old Ali when his bicycle was stolen.
"Joe Martin handed young Cassius Clay to a future in boxing he could scarcely have imagined," Lonnie said. "America must never forget when a cop and an inner city [kid] talk to each other, then miracles can happen."
She received a standing ovation after that statement.
Ali wanted young people of every background to see his life as proof that adversity can make you stronger, his wife said, adding: "It cannot rob you of the power to reach your dreams."
Lonnie said her husband loved to travel, and that although the rich and powerful were drawn to him, he was drawn to the poor and forgotten.
"Muhammad fell in love with the masses," she said.
Lonnie said while it's easy to see his "most obvious talents," less obvious was his extraordinary sense of timing. He had a knack for being in the right place at the right time, she said, which she believes was caused by a higher power.
She recalled when Ali challenged the U.S. draft during the Vietnam War and said initially his chance of success was "slim to none." But, public opinion shifted in his direction, she said, followed by a unanimous Supreme Court ruling in his favor.
Ali's eldest daughter, Maryum Ali, said the love her father showed her and her siblings was "unbelievable" and read a poem entitled "Thank You, Our Dear Father."
"My heart was sore when your sick spirit soared," Maryum said. "Your physical body is no more, but my mind tells different tales of all you told me and the masses."
Maryum said she was "grateful" for all the conversations she had with her father about men, women and relationships, and remembered how he told her to first have a "loving relationship" with herself.
"We crave for peace, the peace you rest in now," Maryum said. "We will forever cherish the 74 years you graced this earth."
Rasheda Ali spoke next, thanking the crowd for being there to celebrate her father.
"You are the greatest father to us, and it was God's will to take you home," she said. "You shook up the world in life. Now, you're shaking up the world in death."
Rasheda imagined Muhammad Ali looking down on everyone saying, "I told you all I was the greatest!"
