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In January 2021, UofL’s Muhammad Ali Institute for Peace and Justice in collaboration with UofL Libraries will commemorate Muhammad Ali’s social justice legacy – Muhammad Ali: A Transcendent Life - featuring with multiple exhibits across the University of Louisville. This commemoration honors Muhammad Ali’s connections to Louisville, his unique contributions to civil rights and social justice movements, and his inspiring global legacy. The Muhammad Ali: A Transcendent Life commemoration will engage our campus and community on how his legacy as a global humanitarian and champion for social justice impacts for our collective advocacy for peace and justice today.
This University-wide collaboration features UofL Libraries exhibits about different aspects of Muhammad Ali’s legacy. The multimedia exhibits include an on-site showing of a rare book of Ali photos. One virtual exhibit features a digital story map of public art and monuments titled “Muhammad Ali: An Extraordinary Life in Louisville and Beyond.”
A hallmark feature of the Muhammad Ali: A Transcendent Life commemoration is a University-wide and Louisville community-based interactive audio/video engagement opportunity named “Standing Up For Peace.” This is a video series of our collective voices sharing how Muhammad Ali’s legacy inspires us to stand up for peace. We will invite members of our community to share their thoughts in videos to contribute to the Standing Up For Peace archive which will be open through June 2021.
A Spring 2022 Symposium titled “Standing Up For Peace - Celebrating Muhammad Ali’s Social Justice Legacy” will focus on national and global racial justice and human rights issues. We will invite nationally recognized speakers, and feature UofL student contributions, excerpts from the video archive, and our local community. A series of break-out sessions will bring together community organizers and justice advocates to design action agendas to stand up for peace in their communities.
The Bridwell Art Library will display books highlighting artists who photographed or depicted Muhammad Ali in their work. Art Library employees contributed to the digital storymap and timelines.
The Ekstrom Library and Archives & Special Collections will display archival and other resources on Muhammad Ali, including the massive volume GOAT: Greatest of All Time: A Tribute to Muhammad Ali, which will be on display in the cases opposite the circulation desk on the first floor of Ekstrom Library from January 25 through February 26, 2021. Archival photographs of Muhammad Ali by Lin Caufield and Howard Bingham will be on display in those cases through May, 2021. Other books and resources will be on display on the first floor of Ekstrom Library near the East Wing (Quad side) entrance.
The Kornhauser Health Sciences Library will feature innovations in Parkinson’s Disease treatments as well as Muhammad Ali’s contributions to advance this research.
UofL’s Music Library display will feature original music and other recordings by and about Muhammad Ali. He is an eclectic artist who acted on Broadway and released several recordings.
Did you know that the song “The Greatest Love of All” sung by Whitney Houston is about Muhammad Ali? Houston’s 1985 version? The 1977 version was performed by George Benson as the theme song of the The Greatest, a film about Muhammad Ali.
A Digital Storymap titled “Muhammad Ali: An Extraordinary Life in Louisville and Beyond”story map featuring public art and monuments to Muhammad Ali in Louisville. This is a University of Louisville collaboration of the Muhammad Ali Institute for Peace and Justice, the Bridwell Art Library, and the Center for Geographic Information Sciences.
Digital timelines connect Muhammad Ali’s life with key moments in global and U.S. history and explore the following themes: The Man; Boxing Excellence; Ali and Islam; Humanitarian and Peace Advocate; and Social Justice and Civil Rights Icon.
The Standing Up For Peace Community Engagement Videos asking our community to share their thoughts about: “What can we learn from Muhammad Ali about standing up for peace today?” This audio/video collection of community contributions will be available to the public. Contribute your thoughts via our Standing Up For Peace web submission form.
Celebrating Muhammad Ali’s Social Justice Legacy – Standing Up For Peace
This symposium/conference scheduled for spring 2022 will focus on how Muhammad Ali can inspire the world to stand up for peace today on national and international racial justice and human rights issues. We are seeking funding and will collaborate with other UofL offices and academic units, student groups, and community groups.