Sheila Jackson Lee: “I thank the gentleman from Kentucky for yielding, and I thank all of my friends. We are friends when we come to…”

“I thank the gentleman from Kentucky for yielding, and I thank all of my friends. We are friends when we come to celebrate someone as potent and powerful and, certainly, symbolic. But we should really recognize that The Greatest, Muhammad Ali, who had many homes--many of us can claim having had the privilege of him walking through many of our streets-- was a husband, father, grandfather, and son to all of his family members that loved him. Today I offer my deepest sympathy to his beautiful wife who worked so hard to create the Muhammad Ali Center, all of his children who gained his magnificent talents in many different forms and capacities, to be able to now not only suffer this loss, but mourn someone who probably in their life created such a space for so many years. I rise today to join in celebrating--for that is what I would like to do--The People's Champion. He was truly the voice of a generation, advocating for the ending of inequality regarding African Americans, but as well, I believe he stood for opposing injustices all around the world. The three-time world heavyweight boxing champion helped define the turbulent times in which he reigned as the most charismatic and controversial sports figure of the 20th century. We all know that he was born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. Over the past 30 years, he had his own boxing battle.…”