Laying the Foundation for Change: Muhammad Ali & the Civil Rights Movement

In October of 1960, Muhammad Ali began his professional boxing career by signing a contract with a syndicate of 11 businessmen known as the Louisville Sponsoring Group. Prior to signing with the group, Ali hired his neighbor and attorney, Alberta Jones, to negotiate the contract. Jones became a significant advocate for Muhammad Ali's future. Through her legal stewardship, Jones focused on ensuring Ali’s financial security and sustainability. Under Jones’s guidance, Ali's contract included a guarantee that 15% of his winnings were held in a trust until he retired or turned 35 years of age, whichever came first. 

Alberta Jones was the first African American woman to pass the Kentucky Bar and Jefferson County, Kentucky's first woman appointed to the position of city attorney. Jones was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement. Her work was instrumental in promoting Black voting rights and she often hosted voter registration classes throughout Louisville. Jones was an active, dedicated member of the Louisville chapters of the Urban League and the NAACP. Additionally, she would spend five months in the position of prosecutor for the Louisville Domestic Court. In 1965, she was abducted from her car, beaten to death, and her body was thrown from Sherman Minton Bridge into the Ohio River. Her murder remains unsolved. Although her life was tragically cut short, Alberta Jones's tenacity, courage, and dedication to change remained with the city of Louisville and Muhammad Ali.