Louisville fondly remembers native son Muhammad Ali

Before he was one of the greatest athletes of all time, Muhammad Ali was Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr., a proud native of Louisville, Kentucky.

Ali was born in Louisville on Jan. 17, 1942, and on Sunday, two days after the boxing champion died of septic shock from natural causes at the age of 74, residents reflected on his life. An interfaith service was held at the River Road Mosque at the Louisville Islamic Center, and attendees were able to write messages to Ali on a paper banner, decorated with butterfly and bee stamps, NBC News reports. "He was not only an ambassador of Islam," said Muhammad Babar of Muslim Americans for Compassion. "He was an ambassador for humanity, and he's beloved by people across the planet, irrespective of their faith or ethnicity."

At the Muhammad Ali Center and his childhood home, mourners left pictures of Ali and bouquets of flowers. George Fields, a community activist, told ABC News Ali "made Louisville known for ... peace. And he stood up for that. And he never did what a lot of other celebrities did — forget about where they come from." Alex Davis said it felt like a death in his own family "because everyone here in Louisville is already really close knit, and losing someone with his inspiration and his influence — it's like losing an icon for most people, but for us, it's like losing a relative."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up