Letter from Muhammad Ali to Khalilah Camacho-Ali
date: label: Date
content: ca. 1968
name: label: Written by
content: Muhammad Ali, American, 1942 - 2016
label: Owned by
content: Khalilah Ali, American, born 1950
label: Subject of
content: Muhammad Speaks, American, founded 1962
label: Subject of
content: Unidentified Man or Men
notes: label: Caption
content: In this letter, Muhammad Ali explains to then-wife Khalilah Camacho-Ali why he converted from Christianity to Islam. Ali publically converted to Islam in 1964.
label: Description
content: A letter written by Muhammad Ali to his wife, Khalilah Camacho-Ali. The letter is two pages in length and is written in cursive, in blue ink, on two (2) sheets of partially torn, unlined, white paper. The first page (2018.75a) describes a night in Louisville, Kentucky where he encountered a man selling the newspaper of the Nationa of Islam, Muhammad Speaks. He noted that it was the first time he had heard of the paper. The second page (2018.75b) continues from page one and goes on to say that the newspaper seller invited him to a meeting, and though he did not intend to go to the meeting, he did purchase a copy of Muhammad Speaks. The rest of page 2 describes a cartoon in the paper that depicted an enslaved person being punished for praying in Arabic and a white slave owner insisting that the enslaved person prays to Jesus. The back of both pages are blank.
place: label: Place depicted
content: Louisville, Kentucky, United States, North and Central America
topic: label: Topic
content: African American
label: Topic
content: Activism
label: Topic
content: Black Press
label: Topic
content: Boxing
label: Topic
content: Communication
label: Topic
content: Identity
label: Topic
content: Islam
label: Topic
content: Religion
label: Topic
content: Slavery
label: Topic
content: Sports
label: Topic
content: Violence
setName: label: See more items in
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection
label: Classification
content: Documents and Manuscripts
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Jonathan Eig and Khalilah Camacho Ali
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of African American History and Culture
identifier: label: Object number
content: 2018.75ab
objectType: label: Type
content: letters (correspondence)
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: © Estate of Muhammad Ali
label: Restrictions & Rights
content: Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: ink on paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (2018.75a): 8 11/16 × 8 9/16 in. (22 × 21.7 cm)
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (2018.75b): 11 × 8 9/16 in. (28 × 21.7 cm)