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April 1968

This 1968 cover of Esquire magazine, conceptualized by art director George Lois and photographer Carl Fischer, features polarizing heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali posed as the patron saint of athletes, Saint Sebastian. Still lauded as one of the most artful and impactful magazine covers in American history, the cover photograph references a 15th century painting of Sebastian by Francesco Bottecini, which depicts the third century Christian martyr shot with six arrows as a death sentence for practicing his Christian faith.
The comparison to St. Sebastian was apt for Ali, who paid a high price for his religious convictions and refusal to be inducted into the Army. His 1964 announcement that he had converted to Islam, and Ali's commitment at the time to the Nation of Islam, stoked angst among the public and the media. In 1967, Ali was met with still more controversy when he refused induction into the Army to serve in the Vietnam War, objecting on political and spiritual grounds. In response, his professional boxing license was suspended for three and half years, from 1967–1971 during the prime of his fighting years. He was fined $10,000, sentenced to five years in prison, and stripped of his heavyweight title.
Ali’s high-profile conscientious objection inspired anti-war activism across racial lines with his refusal to waver on his convictions—at great personal cost—propelling him to status of an international hero and symbol of resistance, as demonstrated by this cover. The April 1968 Esquire happened to hit newsstands on April 4, the same day the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. This grim coincidence gave the image even more gravitas as it highlighted the vitriol faced by African American male leaders who dared dissent—whether religiously or politically.

One (1) copy of the April 1968 issue of Esquire magazine featuring Muhammad Ali on the cover. The cover is fully white, with the Esquire masthead at the top in black and a color photograph of Ali at center, standing shirtless in white boxing shorts and shoes. He has been shot with six arrows. Five pierce his chest while the sixth arrow punctures the upper thigh of his proper right leg, each creating a bloody wound. His hands are behind his back and his head is thrown back so that he looks up and slightly to his proper right. In small black text near his proper left shoe is [The Passion of Muhammad Ali], the title of the feature article written by Leonard Shecter found on page 128. Other interior contents of the issue include a multistory feature on soul music by Claude Brown and a feature on writer Norman Podhoretz along with sections on golf, fiction, photo essays, travel and fashion. The back cover has a full-page, color advertisement for the Worsted-Tex line of men's suits.

National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Books and Published Materials

Sports: Leveling the Playing Field

NMAAHC (1400 Constitution Ave NW), National Mall Location, Community/Third Floor, 3 052

Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

National Museum of African American History and Culture

2024.67

magazines (periodicals)

© Esquire
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ink on short-fibered paper

H x W x D: 13 × 10 × 5/16 in. (33 × 25.4 × 0.8 cm)

Title • Esquire, Volume LXIX, No. 4

nmaahc_2024.67

NMAAHC

ESQUIRE, VOLUME LXIX, NO. 4

National Museum of African American History and Culture

CC0

1960s

Esquire • Ali, Muhammad • Fischer, Carl

New York City • United States • North and Central America

Resistance • Activism • Religion • Vietnam War, 1961-1975 • Mass media • Athletes • Sports

Muslims • African Americans

NMAAHC • Sports: Leveling the Playing Field

City • New York City • State • New York • Country • United States • Continent • North and Central America

Yes

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