<I>Muhammad Ali “Victory Speech”</I>
date: label: Date
content: October 26, 1970; printed 2019
name: label: Photograph by
content: Richard Herman, American
label: Subject of
content: Muhammad Ali, American, 1942 - 2016
label: Subject of
content: Rev. Jesse Jackson, American, born 1941
label: Subject of
content: Drew Bundini Brown, American, 1928 - 1987
label: Subject of
content: Tom Harmon, American, 1919 - 1990
notes: label: Caption
content: This photograph depicts Muhammad Ali giving a “victory speech” after defeating Jerry Quarry at the Municipal Auditorium in Atlanta in 1970. It was Ali’s first fight after being suspended from boxing for almost four years.
label: Caption
content: When Ali refused to be inducted into the U.S. Army in 1967, he was immediately arrested, and the World Boxing Association and The New York State Athletic Commission suspended his license and stripped him of his title and all other state athletic commissions did the same. Ali also paid a large fine and served some prison time.
label: Caption
content: As public opinion about the Vietnam War began to turn on a large scale, so did public opinion about Ali. People wanted to see Ali back in the ring—and in Georgia no state athletic commission existed. Thus, if the mayor of Atlanta approved it, a boxing match could be staged in the city. African American State Senator Leroy Johnson persuaded Atlanta Mayor Sam Massell and the City of Atlanta Athletic Commission to grant Ali a boxing license, against the wishes of segregationist Governor Lester Maddox.
label: Caption
content: Shortly thereafter, it was announced Ali would fight Jerry Quarry on October 26, 1970 at the City Auditorium in Atlanta. The fact Quarry happened to be white added to the symbolism, politics, and racial tensions on display. It was a crowd and scene never witnessed before at a major sporting event. A sell-out crowd of more than 5,000, filled with the black elite, jammed into the City Auditorium to witness the event. Ali won the fight in a TKO in the third round. In the words of activist Julian Bond, the event established Atlanta as "the black political capital of America." Additionally, this marked an important step forward for the development of professional sports in Atlanta.
label: Description
content: A black and white photograph of Muhammad Ali giving a speech after winning a boxing match in Atlanta in 1970. Ali is pictured standing, just to the left of the center of the image. He wears boxing shorts and has white towels draped over his shoulders. His head is bent and he is speaking into a microphone held by a man, sportscaster Tom Harmon, in a suit to Ali's proper right. On the other side of the boxer, Ali's corner man and speechwriter Drew "Bundini" Brown is turned in profile to the camera, his proper left hand placed on Ali's chest. Jesse Jackson is visible between this man and Ali; he is looking down. A number of other individuals surround this small group on all sides, including a photographer snapping a photo, but their faces aren't visible. The photo is matted, with an inscription appearing beneath the bottom right corner of the photograph reading: [Dick Herman 10/26/1970].
place: label: Place captured
content: Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Black power
label: Topic
content: Boxing
label: Topic
content: Photography
label: Topic
content: Race relations
label: Topic
content: Resistance
label: Topic
content: Sports
label: Topic
content: U.S. History, 1969-2001
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Photographs and Still Images
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Dick Herman
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2020.39
objectType: label: Type
content: gelatin silver prints
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © Dick Herman
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: silver halide and photographic gelatin on photographic paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (image): 16 × 20 in. (40.6 × 50.8 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (with mat): 20 × 24 in. (50.8 × 61 cm)