The Next 400: Ohio historical marker unveiled at Cleveland Browns Stadium for ‘Muhammad Ali Summit’

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Sunday, June 4, 1967, there was a gathering of some of the nation’s top athletes and a politician in Cleveland, Ohio.

And it was captured in a photo.

Filmmaker and Sportswriter, Branson Wright said the meeting was a seminal moment, one of the reasons why he keeps the photo hanging in his home.

“This is such an iconic photo, as you see the great Bill Russell, Muhammad Ali, Jim Brown, Lew Alcindor Kareem Abdul Jabbar,” he said. “Carl Stokes, who wasn’t the mayor at the time, but later that year, he was elected as mayor and John Wooten, former Browns Player.”

Many say the meeting, called “The Cleveland Summit,” was a defining moment that changed the trajectory of how athletes handled the intersection of sports, race, religion, politics and patriotism in the United States of America forever.

Wright has written extensively about it over the years.

“In that year 1967, Martin Luther King denounced the Vietnam War for the first time and he did that in his speech. Then a few months later, Muhammad Ali was to be inducted into the armed forces and he refused to step forward. So when he refused to step forward, Jim Brown called John Wooten who was the president of the Black Economic Union and said: call the guys, we need to get together in Cleveland and to talk with Ali and see where he stands,” said Wright.

Former Browns Player John Wooten organized the meeting and said some of the men planned to convince Ali to accept his call to the military, but they changed their mind when they listened to Ali speak.

“The champ came in and he never varied from what he had to say. I am an ordained minister of the Black Islam. I’m a Black minister. I’m a conscientious objector and I don’t want to be in any organization that kills people. And everybody had their say that day and that evening when it came time to vote, they talked to him about special service but he never wavered, one single second. And at the end of the night, we said, we’ll support you, we’ll stand with you,” said Wooten.

Ali told the world his decision in a press conference the next day with all of the men surrounding him.

He faced backlash and consequences. Two weeks later, an all-white jury found Ali guilty of draft evasion. He was sentenced to five years in prison, fined $10,000, his passport was confiscated, his titles were stripped and he was banned from boxing for three years. Ali was released on bail pending an appeal.

In 1971, the Supreme Court overturned the decision.

Ali stood firm and decades later would be revered and applauded by many for keeping his faith.

Many believe “The Cleveland Summit” was the most important civil rights act in sports history, laying the foundation for future athletes. Now 56 years later at Cleveland Browns Stadium, the defining moment will be set in stone with an Ohio historical marker.

This is the 6th marker placed on Cleveland’s Civil Rights Trail.

Wright says this is a unique way to honor the significance of “Cleveland’s Ali Summit.”

“Now you’re looking at years later, you see quite a few athletes that are more socially conscious, in particular, Lebron James. I’m encouraged at what these athletes are doing now. Not only the Black athlete, there’s some white athletes also that are becoming more socially conscious because, you know, we are all American. And that’s what those men that day with Muhammad Ali want to emphasize. We’re Americans and we want our rights just like any American is supposed to have,” said Wright.

“What usually happens when you look through history, something happens and then it wakes you up. And then it gets you to move. So I’m encouraged and glad, and just hope this energy stays,” said Wright.

Cleveland Restoration Society will reveal the next Ohio historical marker at Greater Abyssinia Baptist Church on November 2nd, 2023, to honor the church’s important role in Cleveland’s Civil Rights movement.

The Next 400 series is an ongoing effort to combat racism in our community.

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