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Muhammad Ali rejects the draft

Nation's top Negro athletes gather to hear Muhammad Ali (formerly Cassius Clay) give his reasons for rejecting the draft, United States, June 4, 1967. Photographer unknown, courtesy of Schomburg Center, Art and Artifacts Division.

Muhammaad Ali was among the first African Americans to refuese to fight in the Vietnam War. In 1967, the nation's top African-American athletes gathered for a meeting of the Negro Industrial and Economic Union to hear Ali's reasons for rejecting the Vietnam war draft. These athletes endorsed and supported Ali's decision and rallied to his defense.

Front row: Bill Russell, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, and Kareem Abdul Jabar (formerly Lew Alcindor).

Back row: Carl Stokes, Walter Beach, Bobby Mitchell, Sid Williams, Curtis McClinton, Willie Davis, Jim Shorter, and John Wooten.

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