Muhammad Ali Center unveils impactful new initiative to spread legendary boxer’s compassionate legacy
New York City, N.Y. (February 12, 2025) – How do you measure compassion? It’s a question the Muhammad Ali Index seeks to answer using rigorous, data-driven research.
Not only does the Index, unveiled last month in New York City, provide that guidance but it can also predict the state of compassion across the US—and points to 12 pilot cities as examples of how the Index can be applied.
It all started with the man whose name the Index shares: Muhammad Ali. You probably know him as a world-renown boxer, commonly referred to as the GOAT (greatest of all time). Ali made a huge impact on the world–but not just in the boxing ring.
As a social activist, Ali received the Liberty Medal for fighting for civil rights, humanitarian causes, and religious freedom. He also raised awareness about a cure for Parkinson’s disease, a devastating illness from which he died in 2016. Today, his legacy of fighting for what’s right lives on far beyond his passing.
The Muhammad Ali Center (MAC), the Louisville-based museum that also bears his name, officially launched the new Index during the Ali Compassion Summit, which included a press conference. It was broadcast live via YouTube on January 16, the day before what would have been Ali’s 83rd birthday.
A project three years in the making, the Muhammad Ali Index is the first rigorous, data-driven research to both measure and predict the state of compassion in America today.
Through a comprehensive combination of human and artificial intelligence, the index was used to create the 2025 Compassion Report, a 12-city pilot that identifies cultural and behavioral trends, and highlights the challenges and opportunities for fostering compassion across key sectors.
“This is all part of Muhammad’s legacy,” said Lonnie Ali, Muhammad’s widow and co-founder of the Center. “[The Index] gives us opportunity of how we can amplify compassion, because how can you know where you’re going if you don’t know where you are?”
Recognizing the need to spread compassion not only in our day-to-day lives but also online, Connected Nation (CN) joined the initiative as an Impact Partner and is supporting MAC’s work by signing the pledge to be part of the movement – and asking others to do the same. (You can sign the pledge here.)
“Although we believe everyone should have access to internet, we need to ensure we’re also spreading compassion online,” said Tom Ferree, Chairman & CEO, CN, who attended the summit. “It’s no secret that our digital world is all too often a place where a person can lose themselves behind a computer screen and forget that their words matter and can cause great harm. It only emphasizes the importance of having this Index and encouraging compassion for one another—whether we are face-to-face or online.”
Impactful conversations at the Ali Compassion Summit
The summit featured three panels.
The first focused on how the 2025 Compassion Report’s findings can be relevant on a local level. Moderator and former Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, along with panelists Eric Castillo, Eric Rosand, and David Kramer, emphasized how important it is to practice compassion in person rather than solely online.
The panelists recommended creating local programs, workshops, and other opportunities that allow people to intentionally participate in acts of compassion as a way to encourage local participation.
Summit participants encouraged people to open themselves to new ideas and possibilities by listening to one another instead of judging them. They mentioned that it’s harder to call people names in real life than it is through a screen, but that it is vital to spread compassion through both online and in-person interactions.
The second panel focused on making the business case for compassion. Panelists explored the financial and economic opportunities of certain compassion-driven initiatives. Along with illustrating how compassion affects financial aspects, moderator Seth Cohen asked panelists Sol Erdman, Jessie Tarlov, and Liam Elkind how compassion impacts their work.
Tarlov, a member of the Democratic Party who works for Fox News, emphasized the importance of respect when it comes to discussing politics and spreading compassion by focusing on what we all have in common.
The third panel focused on trends in technology, sports, and other key sectors that shape compassion. The panelists explored how digital platforms and youth voices can drive movements of compassion through culture and media. Moderator Roger McClendon led the discussion on tools used to grow compassion with panelists Carrera Kurnik, AY Young, Christopher Graves, and Chelsea Miller.
The speakers stressed the importance resilience over time because sometimes progress isn’t made as fast as we like or expect. By observing trends and brain science, we can learn how to use tools to integrate more compassion into our lives.
To hear more from each of the panelists, you can watch the full summit on YouTube here.
CN encourages you to join the nonprofit in support of this project by signing the Ali Compassion Pledge, a commitment to self-compassion, kindness to others, inclusion, leading communities, and uplifting the nation and the world.
About the author: Kailynn Bannon supports the Connected Nation team by writing blogs, editing videos and podcasts, managing social media, and creating newsletters. Her responsibilities also include researching video marketing trends and analyzing website and social media metrics, while enhancing various communications materials like brochures and event invitations.