Muhammad Ali Receives 2012 Liberty Medal
(Photo: AP Photo/Ed Reinke, File)
Muhammad Ali has just received an honor for his social and humanitarian efforts by being named the 2012 Liberty Medal recipient. Liberty Medal sponsors and partners praised the boxing champ's lifelong courage and advocacy for civil and religious freedom and philanthropy.
"Ali embodies the spirit of the Liberty Medal by embracing the ideals of the Constitution — freedom, self-governance, equality and empowerment — and helping to spread them across the globe," said former President Bill Clinton, chairman of the National Constitution Center.
National Constitution Center President and Chief Executive Officer David Eisner also complimented "The Greatest" for his power to motivate and help others on his rise to the top. Despite his battle with Parkinson's decease since 1981, Ali has dedicated his life to traveling around the world to promote humanitarian efforts and bring aid to countries in the Middle East, Africa, South America, and Asia. He also works with the Special Olympics and his own Muhammad Ali Parkinson Research Center in Phoenix.
"Muhammad Ali symbolizes all that makes America great, while pushing us as a people and as a nation to be better. Each big fight of his life has inspired a new chapter of civic action."
Aside from his multiple boxing titles and belts, this isn't the first high honor Ali has received. In 2005, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Ali will receive his medal during a ceremony on Sept. 13 in Philadelphia at the National Constitute Center on Independence Mall. Other Liberty Medal recipients include Nelson Mandela, Bono, and former president Jimmy Carter.
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