Some have argued that Smith's songs from the 1930s have been taken out of context. No one, however, has called for Paul Robeson High School in West Philadelphia to be renamed because of racial insensitivity. And no one seems to care that Muhammad Ali was, in Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby's words, "an unabashed bigot."
Christopher Paslay "Now that the Philadelphia Flyers and Comcast Spectacor have officially removed the statue of Kate Smith outside the Wells Fargo Center and banned her famous version of "God Bless America," there is another question that needs to be addressed: should Muhammad Ali, a racial separatist and supporter of George Wallace, continue to be honored by the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia?
""Fans of Ali know that on September 13, 2012, he was given the prestigious Liberty Medal for being a "Champion of Freedom" and is currently on the Constitution Center's list of medal-winners, which dates back to 1989, when Poland's Lech Walesa won the award. According to President Clinton, "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."
. . .
"In a 1975, interview with Playboy Magazine, Ali even went as far as to say, "A black man should be killed if he's messing with a white woman." The same went for white men hitting on black women. "We'll kill anybody who tries to mess around with our women," Ali insisted. According to the National Constitution Center's website, however, Ali is "a champion of freedom who embodies everything the award was established to honor: individuals of courage and conviction who strive to secure the blessings of liberty to people around the globe."
"Sure, Ali matured over time, and like Malcolm X, he softened some of his views. But then again, so did Kate Smith. In 1982, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Ronald Reagan, because her rendition of "God Bless America" helped sell millions of dollars in war bonds during World War II."
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