On May 1st, our two sports literacy classes took a field trip to the museum of the legendary boxer from Louisville, Kentucky: Muhammad Ali. Our class had spent a few weeks reading a book about the boxer, learning more and more about his childhood and his path to glory. Through this book, we were able to gain background information on Ali. Once we heard about the field trip, we were all excited to be able to go since we had spent a lot of class time learning about it.

The Museum had so much history about the life of Ali, not only just his boxing career, but lots of important information on his life outside of that. This was all very interesting to learn about since most people only know Ali as one of the greatest boxers of all time. However, throughout this experience, we learned that he was much more than just a great boxer. He used his platform to stand up for what he believed to be right and to help set up future men of color for a better life. Ali did this through his resistance to go to the Vietnam War and his commitment to justice and equality. Ali was drafted into the Vietnam War but refused to be inducted into the military because he believed that it was unjust and would affect African American men who were more likely to be drafted and killed in Vietnam.

There were also countless displays of awards, certificates, medals, pendants, and more throughout the museum. They represented all of his outstanding achievements and milestones he was able to reach throughout his life. The museum also offered an area where people could watch some of his most important fights that occurred during his career. This was a great feature because it allowed younger people to watch his fights who were never able to before. It also allows younger people to compare the type of boxing done back then to the level of boxing seen today. I thought there was a huge difference between the eras, with boxing being way greater back then. There were also a few interactive boxing exhibits where guests were able to see themself in a boxing environment.

In conclusion, this field trip was a great experience, and I was able to learn a lot of new information on a topic I thought I already knew well. Muhammad Ali may be most commonly known as one of the greatest boxers of all time, but he did much more than just earn that title in his life. He cared more about standing up for what he believed in to be right.