The world knew Muhammad Ali as “The Greatest.” But those who were close to my husband understood his true greatness had very little to do with titles, fame or boxing.
It came from the way he treated people.
As we mark the 10th anniversary of Muhammad’s passing on Wednesday, June 3, calls to hear his voice of kindness and compassion are reverberating. Muhammad believed every person mattered, and he had a remarkable ability to make people feel seen and cared for.
Today, while we may feel more connected through technology, we are becoming more disconnected as human beings. We can reach each other instantly, yet loneliness, division and distrust continue to grow. Too many people are struggling with isolation, anxiety and a sense that genuine human connection is slipping away.
Muhammad Ali, escorted on stage by his wife Lonnie, had a message of compassion that resonates today.
In his first papal encyclical, Pope Leo XIV repeatedly emphasized the importance of compassion and prioritizing humanity over technology: “Entrusting an algorithm in practice with the power to select who is worthy or not, without anyone bearing responsibility for that judgment, is to hand over the task of redefining the boundaries of human possibilities,” he wrote. When relying on AI and other technologies, “injustice goes unnoticed, and compassion, mercy, and forgiveness, understood not as mere appearances but as real political actions, gradually disappear from view.”
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We are living in a culture where outrage is often rewarded over understanding. Many are becoming quicker to judge and slower to listen. Political, cultural and religious differences are increasingly pulling us apart, separating us as families, communities and as a nation.
Muhammad never allowed these differences to distract him from his purpose: uplifting others and inspiring hope. To him, it didn’t matter where people came from, how they prayed or whether they agreed with him. This lesson feels especially important right now.
Through the Muhammad Ali Index, a global study exploring compassion across communities, we are hearing a remarkably consistent message from people around the world: they want to connect, and they are hungry to feel seen, heard and valued.
Early 2026 findings from the Index show there are a growing number of stories about neighbors helping neighbors. Local food drives, peer support, and community service remain among the most consistently positive stories in American public life. Stories about acts of kindness grew 60% year over year from 2024 to 2026, while self-compassion grew 111% over the same period.
At a time when outrage often dominates headlines, these findings tell us something significant: compassion resonates deeply with people.
On the ten year anniversary of his death, Muhammad Ali is remembered as a boxing icon, devout Muslim and fearless activist.
What we are learning is real compassion is not passive. It is choosing to look suffering in the eye and not turn away. It is listening, showing up and helping another person in need in whatever way we can. Muhammad always saw the homeless person sitting alone and tattered in the shelter of a doorway. Heunderstood he couldn’t solve the bigger problem at that moment, but he could help the person in front of him. Sometimes people just need to know they are seen and someone cares.
On June 3 in Louisville, Kentucky, and across the United States, thousands of acts of compassion took place through partnerships with Metro United Way and other organizations as part of the first annual Day of Compassion, whether by helping a neighbor, supporting a family or spending time with someone who feels alone. These efforts may sound small, but Muhammad understood something powerful: one simple act of kindness can spark a flame of compassion that can change someone’s entire day, sometimes even their entire life.
Additionally, the Muhammad Ali Center, alongside partners including the PwC Foundation, is exploring how compassion-based leadership can play a greater role in education and civic life. Young people today are growing up in an environment shaped by polarization, online outrage and social disconnection. Technical knowledge alone will not prepare them for a successful and fulfilled future. They also need human skills such as empathy, listening, resilience, dignity and the ability to disagree without dehumanizing one another. If we want a future of promise, we cannot leave the next generation to learn compassion accidentally.
Later in life, when Parkinson’s slowed Muhammad’s body, it never slowed his compassion. He believed greatness is measured not simply by personal achievement, but by how we treat each other and how we lift those around us.
At a moment when anger, division and dehumanization are rewarded almost everywhere we look, this idea is not merely a personal philosophy. It is essential to being human and to building a better world for us all.Lonnie Ali is Co-Founder, President and CEO of the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville, Kentucky.
