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Friday, April 26, 2019

If Kate Smith's statue goes, so should Muhammad Ali's Liberty Medal

Now that the Philadelphia Flyers and Comcast Spectacor have officially removed the statue of Kate Smith outside the Wells Fargo Center and banned her famous version of "God Bless America," there is another question that needs to be addressed: should Muhammad Ali, a racial separatist and supporter of George Wallace, continue to be honored by the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia?

Fans of Ali know that on September 13, 2012, he was given the prestigious Liberty Medal for being a "Champion of Freedom" and is currently on the Constitution Center's list of medal-winners, which dates back to 1989, when Poland's Lech Walesa won the award. According to President Clinton, "Ali embodies the spirit of the Liberty Medal by embracing the ideals of the Constitution freedom, self-governance, equality, and empowerment and helping to spread them across the globe."

Despite Clinton's praise, Ali was still a man with a controversial past — a past filled with rhetoric much more radical than that of Kate Smith. In a 1968 interview with storied Boston Globe reporter Bud Collins, Ali said whites and blacks living together is as unnatural as humans living with wild animals. "I don't hate rattlesnakes, I don't hate tigers — I just know I can't get along with them," Ali told Collins. "I don't want to try to eat with them or sleep with them."

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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

And MLK He was a WOMANIZER.

Anonymous said...

The communist left is trying to remove every symbol of American greatness.

Anonymous said...

He was right!

Anonymous said...

Yes, he WAS right

Anonymous said...

Oh, for crying out loud.... Kate Smith sang two songs (from 3000), way back I the 30’s that were not controversial (and one of those songs was sung by a black man).... the whole thing was taken way out of context by the social justice police.... I mean, enough already.....