There once was a young man who had many nicknames. All of his nicknames fit his personality like a glove, but there was one nickname that stood out from the rest of them. Its not Louisville Lip which he got from his tremendous trash talking and its also not The Champ. We have all come to know him as this name no matter who it is or where they are from. That nickname was The Greatest. People didnt give him that nickname, he gave it to himself. Nobody ever gave Muhammad anything he had to earn it through hard work and dedication. The earned the title The Greatest by beating the best and then becoming it. This is how the journey of the greatest boxer to ever step foot on this earth started. On January 17, 1942, Muhammads journey started in Louisville General Hospital. His parents gave him the name of Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. after his father. Muhammads father was Cassius Marcellus Clay Sr. Cassius was an extremely diligent worker. He was the grandson of free coloreds meaning they were not slaves. .He painted billboards for a living and he also painted murals on the side. Occasionally he would even sing. Cassius was one of the main reasons that his family w
as able to succeed in a segregated south city. If Cassiuss family would have moved away from the city of Louisville then they would have had more opportunity and not faced the difficulties of racism. Most of the African-American families at this time were not able to do well. The ones who lived in segregated cities often faced the threat of being lynched plus the fact that most of them could not provide for their families. Cassiuss husband was Odessa Grady Clay. On Odessas maternal side of her family she was a descendant from a white man and a slave whose name was Dina. On Odessas paternal side, her grandfather was an Irish immigrant and her grandmother was a free colored. She was often a stay at home mom who would always be there for her children. She also worked as a maid. Odessa was very faithful to her Christian religion. She installed the values of the Baptist faith in Muhammad and his younger brother Rudolph. All of Muhammads childhood he grew up in segregated public facilities. In fact when Muhammad was just five years old Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball. Most sports were still segregated at this time but not boxing.