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Lonnie Ali, widow of heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, encouraged students to understand the “power of compassion” at an Institute of Politics forum on Thursday.

Ali reflected on Muhammad Ali’s legacy in a discussion moderated by Harvard Kennedy School professor Cornell W. Brooks. She co-founded the Muhammad Ali Center — a multicultural center and museum — with her late husband in 2005, and has frequently spoken about his legacy since his death in 2016.

She underscored Ali’s commitment to treating people with respect, urging students to find value in doing the same. She cited his sold-out 1975 Class Day speech at Harvard, where he coined the phrase “Me. We,” which many have since interpreted as a message of building community.

“It was ‘Me. We,’ and that’s the way he looked at things,” Lonnie Ali said.

Brooks and Ali reflected on Muhammad Ali’s legacy outside of the ring, where he was a notable advocate for racial equity, civil rights, and the Vietnam anti-draft movement. Ali organized high-profile boxing matches in developing countries to bring global attention to humanitarian causes.

“I think it’s important for us to understand Muhammad Ali as a diplomat and a humanitarian, and the size of his platform because I’m not sure if people really, really understand today what that meant,” Brooks said.

Lonnie Ali pointed to moments where her husband would use his position as a public figure to challenge stereotypes — similarly citing the highly publicized “Rumble in the Jungle” boxing match between Ali and then-undefeated heavyweight champion George Foreman, which was hosted in Zaire, now Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“He wanted to make sure that the world knew that Africa was full of people who had aspirations, who were educated, who were smart,” she said. “He liked being there, putting the spotlight on them, lifting them up as well in the public eye, giving them that opportunity to be on the world stage.”

“He wasn’t perfect, but he’d strive every day to do the right thing by everyone and to love people, because he loved people, God’s creation,” she said.

Ali said that many young people today look at issues and ask “What am I going to get involved with? How am I going to position myself to be successful?” But she encouraged attendees to instead ask “Who are you lifting out on that way up and once you get there?”

“He used to always say if you know your purpose in life at a young age, you’re lucky,” she said. “You don't have to search for, to know your purpose, but always to treat people with respect and dignity, and to make sure that you were taking on causes that really uplift everyone, not just yourself.”

Lonnie Ali underscored the importance of compassion, urging students in attendance to not discount the value of small gestures.

“You never know who’s being influenced by your example, your actions, but that soft power of compassion and connecting with people was important,” she said.