It would be hard for someone who did not grow up in the '70s to understand the huge cultural influence of Muhammad Ali. The kids next door were African-American

It would be hard for someone who did not grow up in the '70s to understand the huge cultural influence of Muhammad Ali. The kids next door were African-American and my younger brother and I watched several of the Ali matches. He was strong, fast, smart, and good looking. He was outspoken and opinionated. He was a different kind of black man than what was portrayed in movies or on TV. He was revered by us kids at the time. If I knew nothing more than what I witnessed in the boxing ring he would still have been revered. But of course there was much more to Muhammad Ali than boxing.