Joseph (Joe) Barrow was born in 1914 in Alabama. His grandparents had been slaves. Joe had difficulty speaking and said very little until he was 6 years old. His father was institutionalized when Joe was 2, so he never really knew his biological father. When his father was thought to have died, his mother remarried when Joe was 6. Actually, his father’s death was in error.
When Joe was 12, a gang of KKK assaulted his family. Subsequently, they moved to Detroit. His mother wanted each of her children to rise up in their life situation. For Joe, she insisted he learn to play the violin. He was called a sissy by his classmates. Joe had enough teasing and smashed his violin over the head of one of those teasing him. That just created more taunting.
One of his classmates took pity on Joe and took him to a gym where he hoped Joe could become stronger. Joe borrowed gym trunks and worked out. The gym was a place for training in boxing, and Joe’s friend was the Golden Gloves Champion for Detroit.
When Joe was strong enough to spar with his friend, he knocked his friend to the mat. Joe’s mother never knew that Joe was becoming a boxer: he kept the violin in a locker at the gym and used the money his mother gave him for violin lessons to pay for his gym membership.
At 17, Joe had his first boxing match. When he signed in for the fight, Joe only wrote his first name and middle name. He was afraid that his mother would find out that he was boxing.
He lost that first fight to a future Olympic champion. It didn’t take long for Joe to win. At the end of his amateur career, he had a record of 50-4. Forty-three of his victories were by knockouts. At 23, Joe was the heavyweight champion of the world.
Throughout his career, he was only ever known by his first name (Joe) and his middle name (Louis). Joe Louis was our first African American hero. In the lead-up to World War II, Joe defeated German boxer Max Schmeling, thought to be the best boxer in the world. Joe’s victory was not only a win in the ring but a victory against Nazi propaganda.
Joe Louis was also instrumental in winning acceptance for African Americans in other sports as well. The hope that a friend saw in him became a hope for an entire race.
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“Joe Louis is a credit to his race—the human race.” – Jimmy Cannon (sports writer)