Current:Home > Contact-usExhibit chronicles public mourning over Muhammad Ali in his Kentucky hometown-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Exhibit chronicles public mourning over Muhammad Ali in his Kentucky hometown
View Date:2025-01-12 22:40:37
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Like his lightning-quick jabs, word of Muhammad Ali’s death spread swiftly around the globe. An outpouring of emotions flowed to his beloved Kentucky hometown.
For one remarkable week in June 2016, Louisville was the focus of ceremonies honoring the three-time heavyweight boxing champion and humanitarian known as The Greatest.
Eight years later, the Muhammad Ali Center has opened an exhibit chronicling those heart-pounding days. It includes photos, a three-dimensional display and a video documenting the events and emotions.
Putting it together was bittersweet but important, said curator Bess Goldy.
“We haven’t acknowledged Muhammad’s passing in our exhibits yet and we felt that was a really vital story to tell as a part of his story and a part of his legacy,” she said before the opening.
Visitors will first see an acrylic panel surrounded by more than 1,000 silk roses — symbolizing the flowers that admirers tossed onto the hearse as Ali’s funeral procession made its way to Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, said Goldy, the Ali Center’s senior manager of curation and collections. An inscription on the panel recounting those days says Ali’s passing “sent ripples across continents, transcending borders and cultural divides.”
There’s a striking black-and-white photo of Ali, taken in the 1990s. Ali’s own words are displayed, including his comments that he would like to be remembered “as a man who never looked down on those who looked up to him.” A video shows footage of news reports about his death at age 74 as well as from his memorial service. Photos capture the enormity of the crowds that paid their respects. One taken in the days after Ali’s death shows a marquee honoring him at Madison Square Garden in New York, where Ali had his historic first fight with Joe Frazier.
Ali’s wife, Lonnie Ali, said Louisville was “the perfect host to the world that week.”
“From the moment the plane touched down in Louisville, marking Muhammad’s final return home, the entire city of Louisville wrapped their arms around us with love and support,” she said in a statement.
Within hours of his death, makeshift memorials formed at his boyhood home and the downtown cultural center bearing his name. Mourners thronged to Louisville. An estimated 100,000 people lined the streets as the funeral procession passed days later, with chants of “Ali, Ali” ringing out. A star-studded memorial service followed his burial. Comedian Billy Crystal eulogized Ali as a “tremendous bolt of lightning, created by Mother Nature out of thin air, a fantastic combination of power and beauty.”
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg remembers the celebration of Ali’s life as “one of the most powerful, impactful and culturally significant events” to ever take place in the city.
“Those who took part in the celebration will remember it forever,” he said in a statement.
Greenberg, who was a prominent local businessman at the time, said people can now relive those days — or experience it for the first time — through the exhibit.
The Ali Center, situated near the banks of the Ohio River, features exhibits paying tribute to Ali’s immense boxing skills. But its main mission, it says, is to preserve his humanitarian legacy and promote his six core principles: spirituality, giving, conviction, confidence, respect and dedication.
The new exhibit, titled The Greatest Remembered, will be a permanent one, with plans to keep it fresh by rotating in new items to display, Goldy said.
As the exhibit was going up, Keith Paulk was nearby watching a replay of Ali’s fight with Leon Spinks when Ali won the heavyweight title for the third time. The Florida man was on his way with a friend to watch the eclipse in New York state. His stop at the Ali Center was like a pilgrimage to honor Ali.
“Man, he was a hero if there’s ever been one,” Paulk said.
Paulk, 73, said he watched the memorial service on TV and called it a perfect tribute to Ali.
“The world paused for his fights,” he said. “The world paused even bigger when he was finally gone and just recognized that we were in the presence of excellence.”
Lonnie Ali, also a Louisville native, said she hopes the exhibit shows people how the outpouring of affection for her husband “brought not just this city together, but the world.”
“This exhibit is a way to continue to share that week of love, remembrance and unity and say thank you,” she said. “It’s also an opportunity to show everyone, we can come together as one for the good of all.”
veryGood! (53)
Related
- Firefighters make progress, but Southern California wildfire rages on
- Jack Antonoff Marries Margaret Qualley With Taylor Swift and Other Stars in Attendance
- Hope is hard to let go after Maui fire, as odds wane over reuniting with still-missing loved ones
- Regional delegation meets Niger junta leader, deposed president in effort to resolve crisis
- Olivia Munn began randomly drug testing John Mulaney during her first pregnancy
- Missouri football plans to use both Brady Cook and Sam Horn at quarterback in season opener
- Well, It's Always Nice to Check Out These 20 Secrets About Enchanted
- Search for Maui wildfire victims continues as death toll rises to 114
- Nelly will not face charges after St. Louis casino arrest for drug possession
- Restaurant workers who lost homes in Maui fire strike a chord with those looking to help
Ranking
- Ranked voting will decide a pivotal congressional race. How does that work?
- California’s big bloom aids seed collectors as climate change and wildfires threaten desert species
- Sweden defeats co-host Australia to take third place at 2023 Women's World Cup
- Dealer who sold fatal drugs to The Wire actor Michael K. Williams sentenced to 10 years in prison
- Jennifer Garner and Boyfriend John Miller Are All Smiles In Rare Public Outing
- Communities across New England picking up after a spate of tornadoes
- United Methodist Church disaffiliation in US largely white, Southern & male-led: Report
- New Jersey requires climate change education. A year in, here's how it's going
Recommendation
-
Asian sesame salad sold in Wegmans supermarkets recalled over egg allergy warning
-
Nightengale's Notebook: Get your tissues ready for these two inspirational baseball movies
-
Where do the 2024 presidential candidates stand on abortion? Take a look
-
Block Island, Rhode Island, welcomed back vacationers Sunday, a day after a fire tore through hotel
-
Are banks, post offices, UPS and FedEx open on Veterans Day? Here's what to know
-
Union for Philadelphia Orchestra musicians authorize strike if talks break down
-
Russia’s Luna-25 spacecraft suffers technical glitch in pre-landing maneuver
-
1 dead, 185 structures destroyed in eastern Washington wildfire