the louisville sponsoring group saw his potential. and helped him build a runway to launch his career. his timing was impeccable as he burst into the national stage, just as television was hungry for a star. to change the face of sports. you know, if muhammed didn't like the rules, he rewrote them. his religion, his name, his beliefs were his to fashion. no matter what the cost. the timing of his actions coincided with a broader shift in cultural attitudes across america, particularly on college campuses. when he challenged the u.s. government on the draft, his chance of success was slim to none. yet the timing of his decision converged with the rising tide of discontent on the war. public opinion shifted in his direction followed by a unanimous supreme court ruling.

in a stunning reversal of fortunes, he was free to return to the ring. when he travelled to central africa to reclaim his title from george foreman, none of the sports writers thought he could win. in fact most of them feared for his life. but in what the africans call at miracle at 4:00 a.m., he became a champion once more. and as the years pass and those slowed by parkinson's, muhammed was compelled by his faith to use his name and his notoriety to sup victims of poverty and strife. he served as a u.n. messenger of peace and travelled to places like war-torn afghanistan. he campaigned as an advocate for reducing the yoke of third-world debt. et stunned the world when he

secured the release of 15 hostages from iraq. as his voice grew softer, his message took on greater meaning. he came full circle with the people of his country. when he lit a torch that seemed to create new light in the 1996 olympics. muhammed always knew instinctively the road he needed to travel. his friends know what i mean when i say he lived in the moment. he neither dwelled in the past, nor harbored anxiety about the future. muhammed loved to laugh and he loved to play practical jokes on just about everybody. he was sure-footed in his self-awareness, secure in his faith and he did not fear death. yet, i had timing is once again poignant. his passing and its meaning for

our time should not be overlooked. as we face uncertainty in a world in divisions at home, as to who we are as a people, muhammed's life provides useful guidance. muhammed was not one to give up on the power of understanding, the boundless possibilities of love. and the strength of our diversity. he counted among his friends people of all political persuasions. saw truth in all faiths and the nobility of all races as witnessed here today. muhammed may have challenged his government, but he never ran from it. or from america. he loved this country and he understood the hard choices that are borne of freedom. i think he saw a nation's soul measured by the soul of its people. for his part, he saw the good

soul in everyone. and if you were one of the lucky ones to have met him, you know what i meant. he awoke every morning thinking about his own salvation and he would often say, i just want to get to heaven. and i've got to do a lot of good deeds to get there. and i think muhammed's hope is that his life provides some guidance on how we might achieve for all people what we aspire for ourselves and our family. thank you. [ applause ] the widow of muhammed ali. speaking of his goodness, his gentleness, his warmth of spirit and how life was a real challenge in so many different ways for him. and now to be followed by the daughter, one of the daughters of muhammed ali. >> the eldest.

>> peace be with you, everyone here and on behalf of the ali family. i just want to say thank you to louisville, kentucky, all the love you've shown us in our lives has been unbelievable. also i want to thank the entire globe, my father was loved all over. the processional today was overwhelming. but it was so beautiful. i just want to say we love you like you love us, thank you very much. [ applause ] as you know, my father loved poetry. he was always rhyming and promoting his fights and he had poems of the heart. spiritual poems and poems to promote. and i just wrote a peace for him, in honor of him on behalf of my sisters and brothers and everyone who loves my father. it's called "thank you, our dear father."

my heart was sore when your sick spirit soared. your physical body is no more. but my mind tells different tales of all that you taught me, your family and the masses. most importantly, the belief in god who created humanity to thrive in equality. you fought for a purpose to uphold the principle that we as a people have divine human rights. staring right into the eyes of oppression, you proclaimed your beautiful complexion. your god-given skills, your independent will. and the freedom of your faith. as your daughter i am grateful for all of our conversations about men, women and relationships. guiding me to first have a

loving relationship with self. refusing anyone to chip away at my esteem. and expect the respect of a queen. thank you, our dear father, for asking us to think about our purpose. and showing us the beauty of service to others. we marvelled at your sincere love for people as you treated all who approached you with dignity. whether they were rich or poor, your kindness was unconditional. never perceiving anyone as beneath you. so many have shared personal stories about what you have meant to them. as you have exemplified values and qualities that have enhanced their lives. if i had every dollar for every story, i could pay for the sky. your family is so proud of the

legacy you left behind. but i hope that the history of you can help turn the tide of self-hate an violence, because we are overwhelmed with moments of silence for tragic deaths. here on the soil, american soil, in the middle east or anywhere else in this world, we crave for peace. that peace that you rest in now. we will forever cherish the 74 years you graced this earth. you will be greatly missed. but now we send you off in celebration, a blown kiss and prayers. as you enter your final round. god's last boxing bell will sound in heaven. i love you, we all love you. thank you very much.

[ cheers and applause ] ladies and gentlemen, rasheda ali walsh. [ applause ] >> i, we are so honored that you have packed this room with your love. thank you all. thank you so much for being here today. to celebrate our father. you are the greatest father to

us. and it was god's will to take you home. your family will try our best to make you proud, and carry on your legacy of giving and love. you have inspired us in the world to be the best version of ourselv ourselves. may you live in paradise, free from suffering. you shook up the world in life. now you're shaking up the world in death. daddy is looking at us now, right and saying, i told you i was the greatest! no one compares to you, daddy. you once said i know where i'm going. and i know the truth. and i don't have to be what you want me to be. i'm free to be who i am.

now you are free to be with your creator. we love you so much, daddy. until we meet again, fly, butterfly, fly. [ applause ]

. hello. my name is ali jenocola. i was born on muhammed ali's birthday and was named after him. he used to call me the little greatest. we can all learn from muhammed's example of kindness and understanding. when muhammed was asked how he would like to be remembered, he said i like to, i like for them to say he took a few cups of love, he took one tablespoon of patience, one teaspoon of generosity, one pint of kindness, he took one court of laughter, one pinch of concern and he mixed willingness with happiness, he added lots of faith and he stirred it up well. he spread it over a span of a lifetime. and he served it to each and every deserving person he met. thank you. [ applause ]

ladies and gentlemen, natasha boncouer. before i begin, i would just like to say that i'm truly humbled and honored to be here. and i would like to thank the muhammed ali center and the ali family for giving me the opportunity to speak. and to echo the voice that muhammed has given me. so let me tell you a story about a man. a man who refused to believe that reality was limitation to achieve the impossible. a man who once reached up

through the pages of a textbook and touched the heart of an 8-year-old girl. whose reflection of herself mirrored those who cannot see past the color of her skin. but instead of drawing on that pain from the distorted reality, she found strength. just as this man did when he stood tall in the face of pelting rain and shouted -- i am the disturbance in the sea of your complacency. and i will never stop shaking your waves." and his voice echoed through hers. through mine. and she picked up the rocks that were thrown at her and she threw them back with a voice so powerful that it turned all the

pain that she had faced in her life into strength. and tenacity. and now that 8-year-old girl stands before you, to tell you that ali's cry still shakes these waves today. that we are to find strength in our identity. whether we are black or white or asian or hispanic. lgbt, disabled or able-bodied. muslim, juish, hindu or christian. his cry represents those who have not been heard, and invalidates the idea that we are to be confirmed to one normative standard.

that is what it means to defeat the impossible. because impossible is not a fact, impossible is an opinion. impossible is nothing! [ applause ] when i look into this crowd i smile. i smile to recognize that he is not really gone. he lives in you and he lives in me. and he lives in every person that he has touched in every corner of this world. reality was never a limitation

for ali. for us, just as every punch his opponents threw, impossible is never enough to knock us down. because we are ali. we are greater than the rocks or the punches that we throw at each other. we have the ability to empower and inspire and to connect and to unify and that will live on forever. so let me tell you a story about a man. his name is muhammed ali. he is the greatest of all time.

he is from louisville, kentucky and he lives in each and every one of us. and his story is far from over. thank you. [ cheers and applause ] >> so a very moving address by a student in louisville. next up is a friend of muhammed ali, john ramsey. thereafter billy crystal, comedian and actor, being bryant gumbel. president william j. clinton. >> first of all on behalf of my fellow louisvillians to the ali family, we offer our condolences, our heartfelt

prayers. and for lonnie ali, a very special prayer. we know that muhammed was blessed with many gifts, but none more precious than lonnie ali and we thank you so much. i've got to tell you, louisville, when i was in the procession today, and i saw the tens of thousands of people and all the warmth and the love, and the respect that was shown for muhammed, i got to tell you my heart swelled with pride. i know he was watching from above and i know he absolutely loved it. yeah. i don't think he would be surprised. i think muhammed would say louisville, kentucky, the greatest city of all times. i'm feeling good. man! i tell you what, how can we lose with the stuff we use? i'm feeling so good i think i'm going to make a comeback and change my name back t street. that's how good i feel.

you know, for me i always felt connected to muhammed, even before i met him. maybe it was the fact that i was a louisville boy. maybe it's the fact that i love the louisville cardinals, like muhammed. you know, but as our relationship evolved, i found that a lot of people felt this personal connection with muhammed. and that's part of the ali magic. initially for a lot of men my age and certainly myself, it was the athlete that i was attracted to. i mean, that kind of size, that kind of speed, agility, that grace, not only made him the heavyweight champion of the world three times, but it made him "sports illustrated's" sportsman of the century. the "a.p." athlete of the century. certainly it made him the athlete, a once in a lifetime athlete. but i would argue that the combination of compassion,

kindness, love and the ability to lift us up made him a once in a lifetime person. muhammed was blessed with many gifts as i said and he was a wise and faithful steward of those gifts. there's many stories about muhammed. but there's a couple that encapsulate what he was all about. i remember back in 2000, i made a trip to the summer olympics with muhammed. and one day he decided we were going to go see a boxing match. and i remember we're ringside. the american wins, 15,000 people are chanting usa, usa. and i thought this is my olympic moment. i was filled with patriotic pride. the boxer came down from the ring. he took the obligatory picture with muhammed, the fist-to-chin shot. hundreds of photographers were

around the world were taking pictures. and then muhammed leaned down it me, whispered in my ear, said, i wants to see the loser. i said excuse me? he said i want to see the loser. i motioned over to an olympic official and i said muhammed wants to see the loser. can we go to the losing locker room? and we get to the losing locker room and there's not tens of thousands of people. there's not any photographers, there's just a kid in a corner on a stool. got a towel around his neck. he's got a bloody mouth under his eye. this has got to be the lowest point of his athletic career at the very least. felt like he let down his country. he's defeated and the vibe in that room was literally the lowest of low. but then when muhammed walks in, this kid recognizes him instantly. and in broken english, he said muhammed ali! and muhammed started to dance, he said show me what you got, man. and muhammed starts throwing out jabs and this kid starts ducking

and smiling and muhammed grabs him in a bear hug. muhammed said i saw what you did out there, you looked good, you're moving good, you can be a champion, don't give up. i remember it warmed my heart, how he took this kid from here to here in an instant. i remember i got in the car and i said, muhammed, i tried to be a nice guy, but i got to tell you i was caught up in the moment. i didn't give that losing fighter a second thought. i said muhammed, you're the greatest. and muhammed said -- tell me something i don't already know. what i don't want people to forget, no doubt he is to me he is the finest example of a human that i've ever seen. the finest example of a great human being that i've ever seen. of the kindness that a human possesses. that was muhammed ali. but don't forget about this, man. muhammed was the coolest cat in

the room. i mean he was good-looking. he had charm. he had charisma. he had swagger before he knew what swagger was. i mean -- i remember, went to when he was about 25 years ago, came into town to visit his mother. he wanted to go to outback steak house. at the time in louisville there was a fireman's convention. and all of these guys had their engine numbers on their shirt and sure enough. i had seen this scene a million times, these guys line up for an autograph. and i say muhammed if you like, i would will play the bad guy. he said no, i'll sign between bites. he's taking bites of his food and he's signing. this one guy walked up and can you tell he's a big fan. he knew muhammed. he was scared to death. all of this adrenaline flowing, he said champ, i saw the stance you made in the civil rights movement. i saw your stance against the vietnam war. he said i've got to tell you

champ, you're my hero. he said i've got a picture of you at the firehouse, you're my hero. muhammed instantly wanted to change the channel. he said you're the real hero, jumping in fires, saving lives, saving babies, putting your life on the line. he said man, you the real hero. and the fireman responds quickly. he knew all the nicknames. he said but man, you fought the bear, sonny liston. he said you fought the rabbit, floyd patterson. you fought big george foreman. you fought smokin' joe frazier. and muhammed interrupted and said yeah, but joe wasn't really smokin'. i said muhammed, that's a good line. he said you're right, write that down. but it wasn't all about signing autographs and kissing babies. you know, if there was a village that needed food, in a third-world country, muhammed was on plane, will travel, with check. if there was a conflict and he could be part of a resolution,

again, muhammed will travel. as lonnie had mentioned, if there were hostages to be released, muhammed was a man of action. one of my favorite quotes, i think it's right here in your program. muhammed said service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth. i just want to say champ, your rent is paid in full. your rent is paid in full. your rent is paid in full. [ applause ] >> you know in fact i think he's paid it forward. because he has taught us to love rather than to hate. to look for commonalities rather than differences. and so therefore, i think he's really paid it forward for all of us. so as we all know now, the fight is over, but i'm here to tell

you, the decision is in, and it is unanimous -- because of muhammed ali, we all win. the world wins, thank you so much, muhammed. it is time for a man of peace to rest in peace. thank you so very much. [ applause ] ladies and gentlemen -- >> certainly one of the most entertaining and humorous, but not to be outdone by this man. billy crystal. the actor and comedian. >> thank you, ladies and gentlemen. we're at the halfway point.

i was clean-shaven when this started. dear lonnie, family, friends, mr. president, members of the clergy, all these amazing people here in louisville. today this outpouring of love and respect proves that 35 years after he stopped fighting he is still the champion of the world. last week when we heard the news time stopped. there was no war, there were no terrorists, no global catastrophes, the world stopped. took a deep breath and sighed. since then, my mind has been racing through my relationship with this amazing man, which is now 42 years that i know him. every moment i can think of is

cherished. while others can tell you of his accomplishments, he wanted me to speak to tell you of some personal moments we had together. i met him in 1974. i was just getting started as a stand-up comedian and struggling. but i had a one good routine. it was a three-minute conversation between howard cosell and muhammed ali where i would imitate both of them. ali had just defeated george foreman and regained the heavyweight title. sport magazine made him the man of the year. and dick chap, was a editor for "sport." he was going to host this televised dinner honoring muhammed ali. so dick called my agent looking for a comedian who did some sports material. as fate would have it, that comedian was not available and she wisely said -- it's destiny, man. and she wisely said, i got this young kid and he does this great imitation of ali and cosell. he would be perfect for you. i don't know why, but dick said,

okay. i'll try him. if he stinks, i can cut him out of the show. i couldn't believe it my first time on television. and it would be with ali. i ran to the plaza hotel. the event was planned. i met mr. chap. who would later become part of my family. he say how should i introduce you, nobody knows who you are and i said just say i'm one of ali's closest and dearest friends. and my thought was -- i'll get right to the microphone, go into my howard cosell and i'll be fine. and then i nervously moved into the jammed ballroom and that's when i saw him for the first time in person. it's very hard to describe how much he meant to me. you had to live in his time. it's great to look at clips and it's amazing that we have them. but to live in his time. watching his fights. it's experiencing the genius of his talent was absolutely extraordinary.

every one of his fights was an aura of a super bowl. he did things nobody would do. he predicted the round that he would knock somebody out in, and then he would do it. he was funny. he was beautiful. he was the most perfect athlete you ever saw and those were his own words. but he was so much more than a fighter as time went on. with bobby kennedy gone. martin luther king jr. gone, malcolm x gone, who was there to relate to when vietnam exploded in our face? there were millions of young men my age eligible for the draft for a war that we didn't believe in all of us huddled on a conveyor belt that was rapidly feeding the war machine. but it was ali who stood up for us, by standing up for himself. and after he was stripped of the title -- after he was stripped of the title, and the right to fight anywhere in the world, he gave speeches at colleges and on television that totally reached

me. he seemed as comfortable talking to kings and queens as the lost and unrequited. he never lost his sense of humor, even as he lost everything else. he was always himself. willing to give up everything for what he believed in. and his passionate rhetoric, about the life and plight of black people in our country resonated strongly in my house. i grew up in a house that was dedicated to civil rights. my father was a producer of jazz concerts in new york city and was one of the first to integrate bands in the '40s and '50s. jazz musicians referred to my dad as the branch rickey of jazz. my uncle and my family, juish people produce "strange fruit" billie holiday's song describing the lynching of african-americans in this country. now there he was just a few feet from me. i couldn't stop looking at him. he seemed to like glow, he was in slow motion, his amazing face, smiling and laughing. i was seated a few seats from him on the dais.

in the room all of these athletes in their individual sports, great ones, gino marchetti of the baltimore colts, franco harris from the steelers, archie griffin, heisman winner from ohio state. neil simon. george plimpton, fawning over ali. who looked at me -- with an expression that seemed to say, what is joel gray doing here? mr. shap introduced me as one of mr. ali's closest and dearest friends. two people clapd. my wife and the agent. i rose, ali still staring at me. i passed right behind him. got to the podium. went right into the cosell. hello, everyone, howard cosell coming to you live from zaire. some would pronounce it zare, zare wrong. it got big laughs.

and then -- i went into the ali. everybody's talking about george foreman, i don't want to talk about george foreman, he's ugly, he's so slow, george is slow, i rope a dope. i rope a dope george, i'm still fast, 33 years of age. i'm so fast, turn out the lights, be in my bed before the room gets dark. howard, i'm announcing tonight that i got new religious beliefs from now on i want to be known as izzy iskowitz. i am now an orthodox ju, izzy iskowitz, i am the greatest of all time. the audience exploded. no one had ever done him before. here i was, a white kid from long island, imitating the greatest of all time and he was loving it. when i was done, he gave me this big bear hug and he whispered in my ear, you're my little brother.

which is what he always called me until the last time that i saw him. we were always there for each other and if he needed me for something, i was there. he came to anything i asked him to do. most memorable, he was an honorary chairman for a dinner and a very important event where i was being honored by the hebrew university in jerusalem. he did all of this promotion for it. he came to the dinner. he sat with my family the entire evening. he took photographs with everybody. the most famous muslim man in the world, honoring his juish friend. and -- [ applause [ applause ] -- because he was there, because he was there, we raised a great deal of money. and i was able to use it to endow the university in jerusalem with something that i told him about. and it was something that he loved the theory of. and it thrives to this day. it's called peace through the

performing arts. it's a theater group where israeli, arab and palestinian actors, writers and directors all work together in peace, creating original works of art. [ applause ] >> and that doesn't happen without him. i had so many, so many funny and unusual moments with him. i sat next to him at howard cosell's funeral. very somber day to be sure. closed casket was on the stage. muhammed and i were sitting somewhere over there next to each other. and he quietly whispered to me -- little brother, do you think he's wearing his hairpiece? >> so i said -- i don't think so. >> well then how will god recognize him?

[ applause ] >> so as a champ, once he opens his mouth, god will know. we started laughing. it was a muffled laugh at first, then we couldn't contain ourselves, here we were at a funeral, me with muhammed ali, laughing like two little kids who heard something dirty in church. we're just laughing and laughing. he looked at me and he whispered, howard was a good man. one time he asked me if i would like to run with him one morning. do work with him. i said that would be amazing, where do you run? he said i run on this countries club and i run on the golf course early in the morning. it's very private, nobody bothers me, we'll have a great time. i said champ, i can't run there, the club has a reputation for being restricted. what's restricted mean? they don't allow jus there, they don't have any juish members. he was incensed, i'm a black muslim and they let me run there. little brother, i'm never going to run there again.

and he didn't. my favorite memory perhaps was 1979. he had just retired and there was a retirement party at the forum, los angeles, for muhammed and 20,000 of his closest friends in los angeles. i performed a piece that i had created, the imitation had grown into a life story. it's called 15 rounds. and i play him from the age of 18 until he's 36. ready for the rematch with leon spinks. i posted it on the internet last week. footsage nobody had ever seen before. of me doing his life for him, all of those years ago in 1979. there were 20,000 people there. but ways doing it only for him. and it's one of my favorite performances that i've ever done in my life. i sort of got lost in him. i, i didn't even know where i was.

at the end of the performance, and suddenly i'm back stage with another heavyweight champion, richard pryor. and pryor is holding on to me crying. and then i see ali coming. and he's got a full head of steam and he's looking only at me and he nudged mr. pryor aside and he whispered in my ear with a big bear hug -- little brother, you made me life better than it was. but didn't he make all of our lives a little bit better than they were? [ applause ] that, my friends, is my history with a man, i've labored to come up with a way to describe the legend. he was a tremendous bolt of lightning. createsed by mother nature out of thin air. a fantastic combination of power and beauty. we've seen still photographs of lightning bolts. at the moment of impact. ferocious in its strength.

magnificence in its elegance. and at the moment of impact it lights up everything around it. so you can see everything clearly. muhammed ali struck us in the middle of america's darkest night. in the heart of its most threatening gathering storm. his power toppled the mightiest of foes and his intense light shined on america. and we were able to see clearly injustice, inequality. poverty, pride, self-realization. courage, laughter. love, joy and religious freedom for all. ali forced us to take a look at ourselves. this brash young man who thrilled us, angered us, confused and challenged us. ultimately became a silent messenger of peace who taught us that life is best when you build bridges between people, not walls. [ applause ] [ cheers and applause ]

>> my friends -- only once in 1,000 years or so do we get to hear a mozart or see a picasso. read a shakespeare. ali was one of them. and yet, at his heart, he was still a kid from louisville who ran with the gods and walked with the crippled and smiled at the foolishness of it all. he is gone, but he will never die. he was my big brother. thank you. [ applause ] >> billy crystal. legendary impersonator of muhammed ali and a great many others, they were quite close over the years. and crystal really taking to heart the spirit of today's memorial service. not to mourn the passing of

muhammed ali. but to celebrate his wonderful life and his so many terrific contributions to a great many people. and now bryant gumbel, the broadcaster. >> the great maya angelou, who was herself no stranger to fame, wrote that ultimately people forget what you said, and people will forget what you did. but that no one will ever forget how you made them feel. as applied to muhammed ali, the march of time may one day diminish his boasts and his poetry, maybe even his butterflies and bees. it may even one day dull the memories of the thrilla in manila and the rumble in the

jungle. but i don't any of us will ever forget how muhammed ali made us feel. i'm not talking about how proud he made you feel with his exploits. or how special he made you feel when you were privileged enough to be in his company. i'm talking about how he gripped our hearts, and our souls and our conscience and made our fights his fights. for decades. people like me who were once young, semi gifted and black will never forget what he freed within us. some of us like him took pride in being black, bold and brash. and because we were so

unapologetic, we were in the eyes of many, way too uppity. we were way too arrogant. yet, we revelled in being like him. by stretching society's boundaries as he did, he gave us levels of strength and courage we didn't even know we had. but ali's impact was not limited to those of a certain race. or of a certain religion. or of a certain mindset. the greatness of this man for the ages was that he was in fact a man for all ages. has any man ever scripted a greater arc to his life? what does it say of a man, any

man, that he can go from being viewed as one of his country's most polarizing figures, to arguably its most beloved? and to do so without changing his nature or for a second compromising his principles. yeah, you know there were great causes there were great national movements there were huge divisions that afforded ali unusual opportunities to symbolize our struggles. but harry truman had it right, when he said men make history and not the other way around. or as lauryn hill so nicely put it -- consequence is no coincidence.

befitting his stature as the goat, muhammed ali never shied away from a fight. he fought not just the biggest and baddest men of his day inside the ropes. but outside the ring he also went toe to toe with an array of critics, a seemingly endless succession of societal norms. the architects of a vile, immoral war. the u.s. government. he even fought ultimately to his detriment, the limitations of father time. strictly speaking, fighting is what he did. but he broadened that definition by sharing his struggles with us. and by viewing our struggles as his. and so it was that at various times he accepted and led battles on behalf of his race,

in support of his generation. in defense of his religious beliefs. and ultimately, in spite of his disease. i happen to have been overseas working in norway this past week. my buddy matt called. told me the champ had been taken to the hospital. but this time it was really serious. right away, i called lonnie. who was as always, a pillar of strength. and as we discussed the medical details, the doctor's views and the ugly realities of mortality, lonnie said -- bryant, the world

still needs him. and indeed it does. the world needs a champion who always worked to bridge the economic and social divides that threaten a nation that he dearly loved. the world needs a champion that always symbolized the best of islam. to offset the hatred born of fear. and the world needs a champion who believed in fairness and inclusion for all. hating people because of their color is wrong, ali said. and it doesn't matter which color does the hating. it's just plain wrong. yeah, we do need muhammed ali now. we need the strength, and the hope, the compassion, the conviction that he always

demonstrated. but this time, our beloved champion is down. and for once he will not get up. not this time. not ever again. let me close with a quick, personal story. 50 years ago muhammed ali defeated george tovalo in toronto, canada. the very next day he showed up in my hyde park neighborhood on the south side of chicago. as ali got out of a car in the driveway at the home of elijah muhammed, i happened to be next door, shooting hoops in a friend's back yard. i of course quickly ran to the fence and for the first time in

my life i shook the champ's hand. i was 17, i was awe-struck. and man, i thought he was the greatest. now half a century and a lifetime of experiences later, i am still awestruck. and i'm convinced more than ever that muhammed ali is the greatest. [ applause ] to be standing here by virtue of his and lonnie's request, it's my honor. the honor that ali has done me today as he goes to his grave is one that i will take to mind.

god bless you. [ applause ] >> ladies and gentlemen, the 42nd president of the united states, the honorable william jefferson clinton. >> thank you. i can just hear muhammed saying now well i thought i should be eulogized by at least one president. and by making you last in a

long, long, long line, i guarantee you a standing ovation. i am trying to think of what has been left unsaid. first lonnie, i thank you and the members of the family for telling me that he actually as bryant said, picked us all to speak and giving me a chance to come here. i thank you for what you did to make the second half of his life greater than the first. i thank you for the muhammed ali center and what it has come to represent to so many people. here's what i'd like to say. i spend a lot of time now as i

get older and older and older, trying to figure out what makes people tick. how do they turn out the way they are. how do some people refuse to become victims and rise from every defeat. we've all seen the beautiful pictures of the home muhammed ali was a boy in. and people visiting and driving by. i think he decided something i hope every young person here will decide. i think he decided very young to write his own life story. i think he decided before he could possibly have worked it

all out, and before fate and time could work their will on him. he decided that he would not be ever disempowered. he decide that not his race, nor his place, nor the expectations of other positive, negatives or otherwise, would strip from him the power to write his own story. he decided first to use these stunning gifts. his strength and speed in the ring. his wit and way with words. and managing the public. and his mind and heart. to figure out at a fairly young age who he was, what he believed. and how to live with the

consequences of acting on what he believed. a lot of people make it to steps one and two, and still just can't quite manage living with the consequences. of what he believed. for the longest time, in spite of all the wonderful things that have been said here, i remember thinking when i was a kid, this guy is so smart, and he never got credit for being as smart as he was. and then -- [ applause ] -- i don't think he ever got the credit for being, until later, as wise as he was. in the end, besides being a lot of fun to be around, and basically universal soldier for our common humanity, i will always think of muhammed as a

truly free man of faith. and being a man of faith, he realized he would never be in full control of his life. something like parkinson's could come along. but being free, he realized that life still was open to choices. the choices that muhammed ali made, that have brought us all here today. in honor and love. and the only other thing i'd like to say, i think we all need to really, really think about -- is that the first part of his life was dominated by the triumph of his truly unique

gifts. we should never forget them. we should never stop looking at the movies. we should thank will smith for making his movie. we should all be thrilled, it was a thing of beauty. but the second part of his life was more important. because he refused to be imprisoned by a disease that kept him hamstrung longer than nelson mandela was kept in prison in africa. that is, in the second half of his life, he perfected gifts that we all have. every single solitary one of us has gifts of mind and heart. ists ju it's just that he found a way to release them. in ways large and small.

i'll never forget, i asked lonnie if she remembered a time when they were still living in michigan and i gave a speech in southwest michigan, an economic club there. and sort of a ritual. when a president leaves office, you had to get reacclimated, nobody plays a song when you walk in a room any more. you know, you don't really know what you're supposed to do and this club here, it's called the economic club, think. they're used to acting like you still deserve to be listened to, and you got to get reacclimated. so they came with me and they sat with me at this dinner. he knew, somehow he knew that i was a little off my feed that night. i was trying to imagine how to make this new life. and so he told me a really bad joke.

and he told it so well and he laughed so hard that i totally got over it and had a great time. he had that feel about you know, there's no textbook for that, knowing where somebody else in their head. picking up the body language. then lonnie and muhammed got me to come here when we had the dedication to the muhammed ali center. and i was trying to be incredibly old, gray-haired, elder statesman, dignified, i got to elevate this guy. so i'm saying all this stuff in very high tone language. and muhammed sneaks up behind me and puts his fingers -- up. finally after all the years that we had been friends. my enduring image of him is like

a little reel in three shots. the boxer i thrilled to as a boy. the man i watched take the last steps to light the olympic flame when i was president. and i'll never forget it, i was sitting there in atlanta, by then we knew each other. by then i felt i had some sense of what he was living with. and i was still weeping like a baby. seeing his hand shake and his legs shake. and know be buy god he was going to make those last few steps, no matter what it took. the flame would be lit. the fight would be won. the spirit would be affirmed. i knew it would happen.