35TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION Super Hero JOE LOUIS

Joe Louis 

Joe Louis Barrow, the son of Alabama sharecroppers, was born in 1914 at the beginning of World War I. By World War II, he was known as the "Brown Bomber"—and would go on to become perhaps the greatest prizefighter this country has ever known. 

Louis, his siblings, and his mother moved from the Deep South to Detroit when Joe was 12. His mother had visions of him becoming a great violinist, but after a family friend (who was a 1932 Golden Gloves champion) invited Louis to the gym to work out as his sparring partner, Louis's violin days were over. Louis accepted the offer—and landed a right punch that almost knocked his friend out of the ring. 

In 1935, after a sensational string of early victories, Louis finally faced a major opponent—former world heavyweight champion Primo Camera. To many, Camera represented the Fascist ambitions of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, who was on the verge of invading Ethiopia, the world's oldest independent Black nation. Louis was an African American who symbolized the free world and also the pride of the African people. On the night of the fight, Yankee Stadium was filled with a record crowd of mostly Blacks and Italians. By the sixth round, the gigantic Italian stallion had been soundly defeated. 

In June 1936, Louis faced an opponent who was seen as a symbol of Aryan supremacy—Max Schmeling, the former German heavyweight champion. It was a great fight. In the 12th round, Schmeling knocked out the Brown Bomber. 

Louis came back in 1937 to recapture the title from James J. Braddock with an eighth-round knockout. In 1938, he faced Schmeling for a rematch that received international attention. In what some have described as the most anticipated fight of the 20th century, Louis avenged himself and his race with a stunning first-round knockout in two minutes and four seconds. Louis's victory delighted millions of Black radio listeners and raised the morale of other Americans who needed a lift during the bleakest of the Depression years. In Harlem alone, tens of thousands of people celebrated in the streets, yelling, "Joe Louis is the first American to KO a Nazi." Malcolm X described Louis's prominence this way: "Every Negro boy old enough to walk wanted to be the next Brown Bomber." 

Louis went on to defend his title a record 25 times. In doing so, he became America's first African-American hero, destroying the myth of racial inferiority as soundly as he defeated his opponents in the ring. 

He died April 12, 1981, in Las Vegas. The former army sergeant was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

From Great African Americans.  Copyright, Publications International, Ltd.