“When Gordon Parks photographed and profiled Muhammad Ali for Life magazine in 1966, and then photographed him again in 1970, in some ways he might just as easily have been making self-portraits and writing about himself. Both men were tenacious fighters. Both men bore the scars of lifelong racism. Both men were internationally acclaimed, yet both were more dwevoted to speaking out for social justice than seeking out personal success. And though both were celebrated for their nonverbal art—Ali’s balletic boxing and Gordon’s poignant photography— what truly bound them together was their powerful use of words, specifically poetry, to express their optimism for the promise of America—and frustration with the reality. And, more important, to inspire positive change. Yet Ali’s ascension to African American icon was not automatic in Gordon’s eyes. In his 1966 Life article, a wary Gordon had reservations about Ali’s fitness to be a leader and spokesperson during the tumultuous and violent civil rights movement that clenched the country in an exasperated fist. That year, James Meredith, the first African American to attend the University of Mississippi, was shot and wounded by a sniper on the second day of his “March Against Fear,” and the NAACP’s Forrest County, Mississippi, chapter president Vernon Dahmer was killed by a fire bomb. Emotions were raw and anger was high. But righteous indignation, no matter how justified, wasn’t the goal, Gordon knew. Change was the goal.”
— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Excerpt from “Two Poets of Faith and Hope,” Gordon Parks x Muhammad Ali