elt confident that people of the U.S. would be proud of his accomplishment as he brought home the “Gold”. What Ali would return to find wasn’t anything like he had expected. Once returning to his segregated hometown in Louisville, Ali showed off his Gold Medal to everyone whether they wanted to see it or not. Ali then decided to wear his Medal to downtown Louisville looking for respect and praise as a U.S. Olympic Champion. After entering a five-and-dime store for dinner, he was informed by the waitress that the restaurant did not serve blacks. Furious of her statement Ali left and wandered upon a bridge crossing over the Ohio River where Ali tore off the Gold Medal and threw it into the river. In an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Ali’s first wife remembered him saying “that gold medal didn’t mean a thing to me if my black brothers and sisters were treated wrong in a country I was supposed to represent”. Ali decided that if he could become famous, he could use his fame to help the black community gain the equality they deserved.Ali had already gained some fame when he won the Gold Medal in the Olympic Games under the name Cassius Clay, but his fame really took off once he entered professional boxing. By signing a very profitable contract, a 50-50 split with a twelve member group of millionaires called the Louisville Sponsoring Group, Ali had entered the spectrum where his name would never be forgotten. After two years of fighting in professional boxing, Ali figured he would be ready to challenge the champion for the World Heavyweight Title Belt. Ali realized that during this time he would have to work hard in the ring and more importantly outside the ring to reach this goal. During a time period when boxing was becoming less popular and television stopped airing fight cards, it was hard for a fighter to get his shot at the title. Gaining a title shot mostly depended on who the fans wanted...
