In the Face of Adversity: Muhammad Ali's Conscientious Objection
Headline from newspaper article in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, June 5, 1967.
The Cleveland Summit
On June 4, 1967, Muhammad Ali and other prominent Black athletes were invited to Cleveland, Ohio, by Ali's friend and former football star, Jim Brown. Other notable attendees included Lew Alcindor (now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) and Bill Russell. The purpose behind this meeting was to convince Muhammad Ali to rescind his refusal and enlist in the United States Army. The group of men did not understand why Ali would refuse the draft, even when he was told he would not see combat.
After several hours of deliberation, the group emerged with a surprising announcement: they fully supported Ali's decision and believed he was sincere. This vocal support would prove to mean nothing to the draft board, however.
