"I need to get everything straight. I'm not involved in a power struggle between black and white."
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Quote collection
Muhammad Ali quotes (page 22 of 28)
544 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.
"I always asked my mother, I said, 'Momma, how come is everything white?' I said, 'Why is Jesus white with blond hair and blue eyes? Why is the Lord's supper all white men? Angels are white, the Pope, Mary, and even the angels.' I said, 'Mother, when we die, do we go to Heaven?' She said, 'Naturally we go to Heaven.' I said, 'Well, what happened to all the black angels?'"
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"I said, 'Oh, I know. If the white folks is in Heaven too, then the black angels were in the kitchen, preparing the milk and honey.'"
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"Number one comes freedom first for my people and equality. And this is what I plan to do after I'm through fighting - working with nothing but the people, the little people in the alleys: the downtrodden people, going out and helping them with my image."
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"A lot of wars are fought between black and whites daily in America. But if it's something I want to be with, the people who started it were black, I wouldn't not get in it."
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"I’m gonna show you how great I am."
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"You may talk about Sweden, you may talk about Rome, but Rockville Center's Floyd Patterson's home. A lot of people said that Floyd couldn't fight, but you should have seen him on the comeback night."
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"Now, if I even say the wrong thing I make the news."
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"White people cannot destroy me like they have other big ministers of Elijah Mohammed in the past by telling us oh, you speak good, you should be the leader."
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"When I was a kid I got mad enough to want to kill somebody but as you travel the world and I'm struggling with a freedom fight against nations, you can't get enough hate in you to be mad at one man just because it's a boxing match. Never. Even Floyd Paterson, who condemned my Islamic religion and didn't want to call me Muhammad Ali and said I should've gone to the army and I should be in jail."
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"In the ring I can stay until I’m old and gray because I know how to hit and dance away"
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"What’s my greatest weakness? Sad stories, people with problems"
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"Frank Sinatra told Floyd Paterson how he should whoop me. Frank Sinatra."
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"Sonny Liston is nothing. The man can't talk. The man can't fight. The man needs talking lessons. The man needs boxing lessons. And since he's gonna fight me, he needs falling lessons."
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"I don't see no black and white couples in England or America walking around proud holding their children and going out."
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"I am so mean I've handcuffed lightnin' and thrown thunder in jail."
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"Someone stole my bicycle and I said I was going to learn to fight so that I could catch him and beat him up. But I never did catch him. But I ended up the champ of the whole world."
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"I used to ask my brother Rudy to throw rocks at me. I'd dodge every one. That's how I learned how to bob and weave: ducking rocks."
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"I had my style of moving and dancing and whatever I do. What you have to do, is take all the fighters you want and me and rank me where you want. I can't tell you."
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"As soon as I heard the truth that Elijah Muhammad teaches us in America, it made me accept it."
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