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Muhammad Ali's Ethos

Ethos is the author’s character and credibility, in addition to an appeal ethics.  Muhammad Ali used his notoriety as a famous American professional boxer to escort social change as a Civil Rights activist.  In 1964, Muhammad Ali changed his name from Cassius Clay after converting to Islam, abandoning his “slave name”, as he referred to his former name.  Ali continued to serve as an icon for counterculture, refusing to be drafted into the military due to his religious opposition to war.  Ali was later arrested for draft evasion, only to be successfully appealed in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1971.  Muhammad Ali utilized his identity as a double minority, as an African American Muslim, in of the least accepting times in United States history, and his position as the greatest heavyweight boxer at the time to become polarizing figure to jumpstart the Civil Rights movement.

By Brennan Maher

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 8, 2017 at 6:16 AM

    Although brief, your post on Muhammad Ali's Ethos is extremely well-written and I feel informed on the subject after having read it. I like the chronological way you described his ethos and I appreciate how you focused on his identities in addition to his controversial actions and their implications on American society. I think maybe going a little further into either his conversion, the supreme court case, or his "jumpstart" of the civil rights movement would have made it an even deeper piece, but awesome job!

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  2. Sarah RoOctober 8, 2017 at 8:42 PM

    Great insightful post on Muhammad Ali’s Ethos! It introduced me to more of his influential characteristics and experiences that definitely contributes to shaping my understanding of not only your main article, but also some background on the history of the issue, Civil Rights Movement. Your post highlighted some important qualities directly linked to his credibility such as being famous and having the experience of being a double minority. I also like how you incorporated a little bit of kairos in your analysis near the end!

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  3. Cina MakresOctober 11, 2017 at 5:34 PM

    Great post! It is interesting that he changed his name because it served as a fresh start for him. Also, I agree that his identity as a double minority had a very strong impact on persuading his audience of the civil rights issues that needed to be addressed. This also relates to Shirley Chisholm and her speech because she also used her identity as a double minority to get her point across. This form of ethos is very effective!

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