Photo by Jonathan Furlong
The crew and I painted a 7-story mural of one of my heroes and a son of Louisville, Muhammad Ali. Ali was an incredible athlete who was dazzling in the ring, a glorious showman athletically and verbally, and resilient in the face of defeat, earning the heavyweight title 3 times. However, in this mural, based on an incredible photo by Howard Bingham provided by his son Dustin (@dusbing), I wanted to emphasize Ali’s role as an outspoken citizen and activist. Ali was a civil rights activist, a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War, a philanthropist, and a U.N. Messenger of Peace. I admire that Ali stood up for what he believed, even when he potentially faced jail and the end of his boxing career. The Chestnut St. YMCA (@chestnutstreetymca), where we painted the mura,l is blocks from Ali’s childhood school and a place he frequented in his youth. I’m very grateful to the YMCA for providing an incredible wall with an authentic connection to Ali’s life. A project of this magnitude can’t come to fruition without a lot of people to collaborating generously.
–Shepard
