Political Quotes

“I want to thank both of my colleagues for allowing me to come before this body to speak on behalf of the people of the city of Chicago, the people of the First Congressional District. Mr. Speaker, I must say that although Muhammad Ali was and is a native of Louisville--that is his birthplace--I must also claim that Chicago is his adoptive city. He spent many, many years in Chicago. He bought a home on South Kenwood Avenue in my district. Mr. Speaker, as a young man, a young civil rights activist myself, I can't even express the pride that I had when I would travel down the street and point out to my young sons and anybody else who was with me that that is where Muhammad Ali lives. He was a man of the neighborhoods in Chicago. He touched many people--young people, old people, and people who didn't necessarily share his same political or religious ideas, but he touched them anyhow. Mr. Speaker, Muhammad Ali was a man for all seasons. Yes, he achieved prominence in the boxing arena, in the sweet science of boxing, but he achieved greatness because of the life that he led both inside of boxing and outside of boxing. Mr. Speaker, on Saturday afternoons, many of us who had few heroes would gather around television sets and watch Muhammad Ali fight in the heavyweight division against other fighters and other boxers.…”