The memorial service for "the people's champ" got off to a start worthy of the crowd at a title fight.
"Ali, Ali, Ali!" the attendants chanted in Louisville, Kentucky, before the first speaker had even taken the stage.
SEE ALSO:16 of the greatest Muhammad Ali quotesFrom there, a procession of preachers, rabbis and politicians took turns at the microphone, each painting a picture of Muhammad Ali -- boxing champion, legendary civil rights activist -- that illustrated the numerous ways Ali was able to touch a diverse set of lives.
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All of them, though, recognized Ali's courage, and noted that it was not something only witnessed inside a boxing ring.
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"He was a person who was wiling to risk a great honor that he got and a great fame that he got," Rabbi Michael Lerner told the crowd. Lerner and Ali had both opposed the Vietnam War, and Lerner was in awe of Ali's willingness to become a controversial figure at the potential cost of the fame he built as a boxing champ.
"He stood up and was willing to take that kind of a risk because he has that kind of moral integrity," Lerner said.
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Many speakers talked about the voice Ali gave to those who might not have otherwise been heard, or who were struggling to find a voice of their own.
"He dared to love black people at a time when black people had a problem loving themselves," said Dr. Kevin Cosby, pastor at St. Stephen Church in Louisville. "He dared to affirm the beauty of blackness. He dared to affirm the power and the capacity of African Americans. He dared to love America's most unloved race. And he loved us all."
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Lerner, speaking about how to carry Ali's legacy, told the audience that the best way to uphold the champ's memory was "to be Muhammad Ali today."
"We must speak out, refuse to follow the path of conformity," Lerner said.
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