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Muhammad Ali Died 10 Years Ago. We Still Feel His Loss Today.

He was a living sign, to paraphrase the champ, that we don’t have to be the way they want us to be—and his example matters more than ever.

Incredibly, we are marking the 10th anniversary of the passing of “The Greatest,” Muhammad Ali. The heavyweight boxing champion, military draft-resister, proud anti-racist, and champion of the Palestinian people was laid to rest in Louisville, Kentucky, in June of 2016. Being present for his funeral and the celebration of his incredible life was an indelible experience. I wanted to recall that day not only to commemorate the passing of a giant but also because it speaks to what we have all collectively lost over the last decade.

This country is a more violent, more divided, more hateful, and more uncertain place than it was a decade ago. Then again, it’s not like 2016 was some kind of Shangri-la: Racist police killings were in the news seemingly every day. Income inequality was widening. Opioid abuse had become a full-blown epidemic. Environmental catastrophe was already a fact. The hoofbeats of authoritarianism were in the distance. Given all this, you could be forgiven for thinking we’ve always been on a toboggan ride down to our current hellscape. And yet, the future was not, nor is it ever, preordained. There were movements a decade ago, from Black Lives Matter to the push for a Green New Deal, that offered hope. As a country, we had multiple paths—we just took the most nihilistic one on offer.

On that day in Louisville, though, it was possible to feel an optimism that today seems so elusive. When Muhammad Ali was laid to rest, the entirety of the city........

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