What Muhammad Ali taught an Ontario teen about racism
Cross Country Checkup | CBC | Posted: June 7, 2016 1:02 AM | Last Updated: March 12, 2017
Since the legendary boxer died last Friday, people around the world have been reflecting on the legacy of Muhammad Ali. For some he'll only be known as a long-running heavy-weight champion of the world, but for others, Ali's anti-racism activism and involvement with the American civil rights movement resonate much louder.
For Felix Palmer Steinhauser, a teenager from Guelph, Ont., Ali's poetry and activism are what he'll remember. Listen to Steinhauser reflect on a speech he wrote about Ali with Checkup guest host Duncan McCue.
Felix Palmer Steinhauser: When I was 12-years-old, I was in Grade 6 and we were preparing speeches for class. I decided to do a speech on Muhammad Ali. I just thought that his story was the most amazing thing ever and it inspired me to do a lot of things.
Duncan McCue: You're a teenager, Felix?
FS: Yes, 17.
DM: Muhammad Ali's time is a long time before your generation. What was a made you choose him?
FS: Well this is actually kind of kind of cool. Around that time I was into rap music and one big thing that Muhammad Ali was incredible at was poetry. He knew how to trash-talk his opponents. I opened the speech with— the speech it was a big hit, by the way— I opened with:
"Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee/
The hands can't hit what the eyes can't see/"
The hands can't hit what the eyes can't see/"
I thought that was the most lyrically genius verse ever since I knew what a bee was and I knew that bees stung so it made sense. I just thought it was so cool and I was into rap and he was doing it before before rap was really a thing.
DM: It is hard for kids of this generation to try to imagine apartheid era America in the 1940's, 50's, and 60's. How did that strike you when you were learning about that? Does it connect to our time, from your perspective?
FS: It really does. A lot of people like to think that that racism is over or not as important as it was a while ago, but it really isn't. When I was researching I learned a lot of stuff that just seems so unfair. At the time I was just 12-years-old and I didn't understand how he grew up in segregation like that.
DM: Blacks couldn't use a public toilet or had to use different doors; they had a different parts of movie theater—
FS: It was so weird because I had all these multicultural friends and I grew up with best friends of colour so it seemed so unfair. I don't know like it didn't make sense to me. I learned how far we still have to go, you know? We say things like "It's 2016."…Come on, we still have far to go for peace and equality.
Felix Palmer Steinhauser's and Duncan McCue's comments have been edited and condensed. This online segment was prepared by Ayesha Barmania.