Muhammad Ali, the Greatest of all Time & Louisville native would have celebrated his 84th birthday today

Posted on by

Special Report by Sherlene Shanklin

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — 84 years ago today the ‘Greatest of All Time’ (GOAT) was born as Cassius Clay, who the world would know as Muhammad Ali. The professional boxer, activist, humanitarian and global icon grew up with his brother Rahaman in Louisville, both attending Central High School.

Ali started boxing at the age of 12. Just a few years later at the age of 18, he competed in the 1960 Summer Olympics, winning the gold medal for the lightweight division.

He joined the Nation of Islam in the early 1960’s.

On February 25, 1964, Ali won the world heavyweight championship at the age of 22 defeating Sonny Liston which was considered an upset.

Ali had 61 fights, winning 56, 37 of those victories were by KO.

Ali, a father of nine children, died on June 3, 2016, at the age of 74, bringing thousands to Louisville just to be close to his hometown.

His legacy continues to live on from the Muhammad Ali Center, his childhood home, family and friends. Earlier this week, the ‘People’s Champ’ finally received a United State Postal Service, (USPS) stamp. In true Ali fashion, he’s knocking out records by selling out in multiple post offices in just a few days of its unveiling.

Muhammad Ali’s contributions, strength and legacy continues to live on.

The Muhammad Ali Center located at 144 N. 6th Street built in 2002 is a six story almost 97,000 square foot museum and cultural center will remember him and Dr. Martin Luther King on Monday, January 19th gives fans a chance to tour for free all day. The are calling it the Community Free Day.

MuhammadAli2026-Block2-v6-BV-v1

Contact Sherlene Shanklin at sherlene@sherleneshanklin.com or follow me on Facebook, TikTok , or Instagram.  

This weekend Sherlene Shanklin receives her third Emmy Award

Posted on by

https://www.whas11.com/article/news/local/whas11-news-honored-5-emmy-awards-during-regional-ceremony-ohio-valley/417-cb12d5fb-d53b-4602-8a18-f5505f2e93d1

Shanklin won in the serious news feature category with the exclusive with Sydney Thomas. She was rescued from her semi cab that was hanging over the Second Street Bridge in Louisville, KY. The world watched as she was looking down at the Ohio River hoping to be saved before the cab of the semi-truck falls into the river. She sat down and explained for the one and only time about how that 45 minutes felt like forever.

TheVIPPReport: A memorial book release to be held for late journalist and Louisville native Bruce Johnson

Posted on by

Special Report by Sherlene Shanklin, WHAS11, ABC, Louisville

He had a career spanning 40 plus year in the broadcast industry.

Louisville native Bruce Johnson had quite the resume – 22 Emmy Awards and a recipient of the Edward R. Murrow award, one of the highest a journalist can achieve just a few of his many accolades.

Johnson was born in 1950 and attended Shawnee High School, later studying at Kentucky State University and Northern Kentucky University where he earned a degree in political science. He would go on to earn a master’s in public affairs from the University of Cincinnati.

One of his first summer jobs was at WLOU Radio. Johnson spent much of his journalism career at WUSA (formerly WTOP-TV) in Washington D.C.

Johnson would work 44 years as a reporter, working his way up the ladder to become an evening news anchor. He covered stories all over the world.

Johnson was also a writer and released three books. His current book, “Surviving Deep Waters: A Legendary Reporter’s Story of Overcoming Poverty, Race, Violence and his Mother’s Deepest Secret” was released back in February.

He was supposed to go on a tour to support the book’s release but died on April 3 at the age of 71.

To remember the life of Johnson, a memorial book release and reception will be held on Aug. 11 at the Muhammad Ali Center at 5:30 p.m.

Organizer and former classmate Janis Carter Miller said, “I was proud of my friend and classmate’s accomplishments. He was my classmate at Shawnee and KSU. He was elegant and eloquent! His character and his carriage were distinguished and sophisticated! Bruce’s tone of voice and articulation was eloquent. Facilitating a 45-year career in journalism. I was honored that he has entrusted the coordination of his book signing now since his untimely passing, to me and my goal is to pay special tribute to his accomplishments.”

Miller said Johnson was raised on Grand Avenue down the street from Muhammad Ali in the Chickasaw neighborhood.

I remember when Johnson returned to Louisville to cover Ali’s funeral in 2016. He helped WHAS11’s News team with coverage that week, bringing a personal angle to the coverage.

https://38907008b3ea5753962fdb5334a33db6.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html The memorial book release and reception is an opportunity for family and friends he grew up with, former classmates, members of his fraternity Kappa Alpha Psi and fellow journalists of the Louisville Black Association of Journalists a chance to gather and share memories.

The husband, father, grandfather, and journalist always recognized that he was from Louisville.  Raised by a single mother, he experienced hardships as a youth but overcoming many obstacles to become one of the most respected anchors in his field.

The event is open to the public.

https://www.whas11.com/article/news/local/memorial-book-release-bruce-johnson-journalist-wusa-louisville-muhammad-ali-center/417-d9933264-14a6-42f2-b36a-f5ca8aeea428

 ►Contact WHAS11’s Sherlene Shanklin at sshanklin@whas11.com or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.