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Muhammad Ali's Kairos


By the time of this interview, Ali was already an established boxer and political figure. Ali had won the title of heavyweight champion twice and was an Olympic gold medalist. This interview was only a few months after Ali had won back his title against Joe Frazier. Ali had also, famously, refused to be drafted already, making him a political figure. During Ali’s forced hiatus from boxing, he gave hundreds of anti-war speeches at college campuses. After Ali converted to Islam and joined the Nation of Islam, he started to preach his views on race and Civil Rights. At the time of this interview, most of the major Civil Rights Movement moments had already passed, but racism was still a major issue. 1971 was the perfect time for this interview because everything had already happened. Ali used this interview to inform the world what has happened. He also used this interview to state his views on race and racism because they were still relevant.

 By Justin De Burgo

By Justin De Burgo

Comments

  1. Cina MakresOctober 4, 2017 at 8:03 PM

    It is very important that you mentioned Muhammad Ali's background because his popularity and credibility have a very big impact on people. He definitely used his fame to spread his beliefs on racism, and it became a well known event because it gained attention from people from all over. I also like how you mentioned that his interview was the perfect time to spread the word because it occurred after significant movements. Timing is essential for successful persuasion. Awesome job!

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  2. UnknownOctober 4, 2017 at 8:24 PM

    By discussing Muhammad Ali's extrinsic ethos, you provide a background that serves a foundation for your analysis of its effect on the audience. I think it is interesting that you decided to distinguish several phrases by using a different color font, as I believe it alters the purpose and effectiveness of your examination of the text.

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  3. UnknownOctober 6, 2017 at 8:25 AM

    I think mentioning that his transition from his previous religion to Islam was a very important fact to include. Before his conversion to Islam, he was not verbose about the issue of racism. However after joining the religion and learning their doctrines and beliefs, the exigence of racism seemed to ignite his actions and decisions after. Could it be that if it was not for his conversion, he would have not been a historical figure and influence on the issue of racism and injustice? Nice post!

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