When a commercial for some biography about Muhammad Ali (or Cassius Clay, for sports trivia purists) came on the other night, it occurred to me that the young Mr. Ali was an incredibly handsome man.
Yet if I'd been one of his contemporaries, it would quite likely not even have occurred to me to think of him in such terms. Ever.
How sad.
1 comment:
Why not? I did. There are a whole lot of good-looking men out there. Color is not an issue (for me, anyway.) It wouldn't have been then, either.
But I get what you're saying. I am 50 years old. Things WERE different then. My 6th grade teacher had the nerve to say, and I quote, "Coretta Scott King is very nice looking; for a Negro, that is."
One of my best friends, Barbara, black, sank as low into her seat as she could without completely disappearing. Did any of us call Mr. F on it? No. It was accepted thinking by most. And totally not fair, or right. How awful.
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