Free Essay

Joe Louis

In:

Submitted By jondawgs731
Words 955
Pages 4
JOE LOUIS
JONATHAN RIVERA
PROFESSOR MICHEAL GOOCH

JOE LOUIS

This report is about a man that changed American history Joseph Louis Barrow was a world heavy weight champion from 1937 to 1949. He was born on May 13, 1914 Lafayette, Alabama, his father was Monroe Barrow and mother was Lilly Reese. Joe spent 12 years growing up in Alabama, then later moved to Detroit Michigan because of the Klux Klux Klan harassment. Later in his life he went to work part time for Ford Motor company. Louis also attended vocational school to learn how to make cabinets. When the great depression hit Joe began to spend time in a local south recreation center in Detroit, Michigan. This is where he picked up the sport of boxing. He made his armature debut around 1932, he was 17 years old. Louis had numerous victories during his armature career, he earned a club championship of his brewester street recreational center. In 1933 Louis won the Detroit Golden glove novice championship for the light heavy weight classification. The next year he trained and prepared to compete in the Golden glove tournament of championship where he won the light heavy weight classification. Later that year, he also added a national AAU Tourney in Missouri. This caught the eyes of many boxing promoters, they wanted Joe to turn professional. Joe Louis' amateur record was an amazing 50 wins with 4 loses, 43 knock outs. Joe Louis turned pro July 4 1934 he had many heavyweight fight his most notable was his fights with Max Schemeling. Joe was seen as a hero going against the super power of Germany ,we were in a middle of a war so we supported him 100 %. Joe had 2 fight with Schemeling in the first fight Louis had got knocked out and the second fight was labeled as fight of the century in the middle of Hitler‘s rise. (Matt Del A Pena)2011“Son of a black sharecropper against Hitler’s master race/ white and black Americans together against the against the rule of Nazi hate“. He had taken the American people on his back that that fight and had demolished Max Schemeling in just two rounds. Louis put on numerous charity events for the military to help raise money which the Irs started to watch Joe. (Lauren Rebecca Sklaoff)2003“ On January 9, 1942 almost seventeen thousand boxing fans sat on the edge of their seats in Madison Square Garden. American flags hung from the rafters and were plastered on every square inch of wall space. Here at the Navy Relief Society Joe would take on Buddy Bear. Joe would risk his title and donate his earnings of approximately one hundred thousand dollars to the victims of the Pearl Harbor bombing.” IRS started to say that the charity money was taxable income but Joe never seen much from the profits of the events he put on. Louis was the focus of a media recruitment campaign encouraging African-American men to enlist in the Armed Services despite the military's racial segregation. Louis’s later enlisted in the United States Army he was used as a motivating tool for the troops. Louis was also helping the army in recruitment of civilians to the military. Joe also had a famous saying while in the service helping the troop moral which was "We'll win because we're on God's side." The publicity of the campaign made Joe widely popular stateside even outside the world of sports. Never before had white Americans embraced a black man as their representative to the world. Joe had finished his term he was forced back to boxing he had the IRS breathing down his back that he own almost 350 thousand dollars. Louis fought couple more times to pay off some off his debt basically. At the time of Louis's retirement the IRS was still completing its investigation of his prior taxes which had always been filed by Mike Jacobs's personal accountant of Joe Louis . Later in the year of 1950 the IRS finished a full audit of Louis's past returns and announced that with interest and penalties he owed the government more than $500,000. Louis had no choice but to return to the ring. Joe would get old in the ring after this comeback getting hurt in the ring forcing him to retire for good. Joe had earned 4.6 million in his boxing career were he only seen about 800 thousand of it. Joe had such a good heart he gave allot of his money to family members and his kids also invested in businesses which almost all of them failed. Eventually Joe took side jobs to help pay off his debt like a he dabbled in wrestling TV shows golf appearance. The IRS later made his payments reasonable for him to live comfortable in his old age. (Ross, Marlan B)2010“In 1986 Detroit statue Monument to Joe Louis, sculpted by Mexican American artist Robert Graham, suggests that public art created on behalf of cross-racial healing most frequently facilitates the very social divisions it seeks to suture.” Joe Louis Barrow was a American hero and he will always be remember for all the contribution he made for this country and for the racial lines that he help come together.

Reference Page

Ross , Marlan B. (2010) South Atlantic Quarterly An Anatony of the Race Icon Vol. 109 Issue 2 pg 279-312, 35p EBSCO HOST

Sklaroff , Lauren Rebecca (2002) Journal of American History Vol. 89 Issue 3 pg. 958 983, pg 26 EBSCO HOST

Matt Del A Pena (2010)
A Nations Hope: The story of boxing legend Joe Louis Pg. 40 EBSCO HOST

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Joe Louis

...In 1926, Louis' family joined the African-American migration from the rural South to the urban North. They settled in Detroit and that was where he grew up. As a teenager he worked odd jobs and began boxing with neighborhood kids. Louis used the 50 cents a week his mother gave him for violin lessons to rent a locker at the Brewster Recreation Center, where he began a successful amateur boxing career. John Roxborough, the illegal numbers betting king in Detroit's black ghetto, decided to sponsor Louis's professional career. He enlisted the help of Julian Black, a Chicago speakeasy owner and numbers operator, and they moved Louis to Chicago to train with Jack Blackburn, a former lightweight boxer and skilled trainer who had already taken two white fighters to world championships in lower weight divisions. Blackburn patiently taught Louis a fundamental style of boxing that emphasized balanced but unspectacular footwork, a strong left jab, counterpunching, and throwing combination punches in rapid sequence. Until his death in 1942, Blackburn ensured that Louis ran six miles a day, sparred with discipline, and maintained his physical superiority and confidence against all challengers. By March 1935, Louis had won 18 professional fights and was bumping up against the barrier of segregation. Denied economic opportunity and political power, African Americans were invisible in America's emerging media age. With the exception of occasional tokens in track and field and college football...

Words: 1849 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Joe Louis

...Joe Louis was a man of great stature, a role model, and, for his time, he was what the black community needed him to be. It is nearly impossible to take the character of today’s athletes, like Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant, and compare them to the reflection of boxer Joe Louis. Joe Louis began his credible journey on June 19, 1936 during the times when America was struggling with racial equality he won his first of 27 fights. However, having a black heavyweight champion meant the black community would move upward and be successful and just as productive as white America. Although Joe Louis was not the first black heavyweight champ, he was still highly favored amongst his people and intended to execute the necessary duties to deliver a message demanding equal opportunity to whites from the black community. Louis did not doubt that he could win. To be a contender for a heavyweight title Louis had to first defeat Max Schmeling. People paraded and praised Louis months before the actual fight. They truly believed in this man of color and when in the boxing ring Joe Louis would always represent the African American fighting the whites for equality. The pressure was thick but maybe the community and Louis were over-confident. No one assumed he would have difficulty in the bout but with his lack of training Joe Louis experienced the greatest upset after being defeated in 12 rounds. Joe Louis’ defeat represented African American defeat entirely. When he went down “all of the hopes...

Words: 530 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Joe Louis

...Jessica Junquet Thursday, October 30th, 2014 History Joe Louis Joe Louis: American Hero Betrayed Joe Louis was a symbol of hope for white and mostly black Americans in this country. This image that Joe created did not just happen in a day, it took years and hundreds of matches. He was one of eight black children who did not receive any education and preformed manual jobs. He was a hard worker who earned enough money to take violin lessons. Yet, it was not violin lessons he was attending it was boxing lessons. Louis was not born with the skills of a boxer. He had to work extremely hard to achieve what he did. His first fight he was knocked down seven times, but still remained to get up. His first manager, John Roxboro thought he was making a solid investment with Louis. As his career was beginning to start up he was faced with rules in order to participate. He was not aloud to take a picture with a white woman, he must be humble, and if he were to win a fight he was to not raise his arms in success as for it may start a riot. Basically, he was trained to act white. 1934 was the year to change it all. Louis won his first twelve fights in a row and ten of those fights were by knockout. Louis started to get very respectable at boxing; he won twenty-two fights without defeat, which started to raise attention to the black community. This was during the time of the depression. Louis was starting to create something for his community to believe in. As he became more successful...

Words: 1427 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

The Life of a Werewolf

...Joe Louis was a man of great stature, a role model, and, for his time, he was what the black community needed him to be. It is nearly impossible to take the character of today’s athletes, like Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant, and compare them to the reflection of boxer Joe Louis. Joe Louis began his credible journey on June 19, 1936 during the times when America was struggling with racial equality he won his first of 27 fights. However, having a black heavyweight champion meant the black community would move upward and be successful and just as productive as white America. Although Joe Louis was not the first black heavyweight champ, he was still highly favored amongst his people and intended to execute the necessary duties to deliver a message demanding equal opportunity to whites from the black community. Louis did not doubt that he could win. To be a contender for a heavyweight title Louis had to first defeat Max Schmeling. People paraded and praised Louis months before the actual fight. They truly believed in this man of color and when in the boxing ring Joe Louis would always represent the African American fighting the whites for equality. The pressure was thick but maybe the community and Louis were over-confident. No one assumed he would have difficulty in the bout but with his lack of training Joe Louis experienced the greatest upset after being defeated in 12 rounds. Joe Louis’ defeat represented African American defeat entirely. When he went down “all of the hopes, the...

Words: 399 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Sports Economics

...Chris Welter William Welch Econ 325 25 November 2014 Joe Louis Arena Joe Louis Arena was built in December 1979 in Detroit, Michigan for a total cost of $57 million. It is host to the Detroit Red Wings and is named after famous heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis, who grew up in Detroit. Joe Louis is the fourth oldest NHL venue and is one of few NHL arenas that are without a corporate sponsor. Joe Louis is owned by the city of Detroit and is operated by Olympia Entertainment, which is a subsidiary of Illitch Holdings owned by Mike and Marian Illitch. The capacity of Joe Louis is between 18,000 and 22,000 depending on the type of event being held there. The arena has hosted events such as the 2006 WNBA Finals championship game, also during the 1984-85 NBA season the Detroit Pistons were relocated to Joe Louis when the roof of the Silver dome collapsed. Other events that Joe Louis has hosted include World Wrestling Entertainment events, the 1980 Republican National Convention and three NCAA Frozen Four college hockey finals. In addition, Joe Louis Arena is also a concert venue. Until the Palace of Auburn Hills was built in 1988, Joe Louis Arena was Michigan's largest indoor arena for concerts. Joe Louis Relocating On July 20, 2014, following the approval of a $650 million project to build a new sports and entertainment district in Downtown Detroit, Christopher Ilitch unveiled designs for a new downtown arena near Comerica Park and Ford Field to be completed by 2017...

Words: 1450 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Lean on Me Case Study

...to the theatres in 1989. The movie is about a principal in 1987 that returns to Eastside High School that’s filled with violence, gangs, and drugs. This principal, Joe Clark, vowed to himself and everyone in the community and legislature that he would turn the school around. Joe Clark’s character was played by Oscar winner, Morgan Freeman. The state legislature has mandated that 75% of all high school students must pass the state aptitude exam or the school will be shut down. Joe Clark (aka Morgan Freeman) used his unconventional approaches to turn this school around. He transformed the look of the school by ordering the graffiti covered and painted over. He expelled all of the drug users/sellers and any trouble makers from the school. At this point, he started track the halls of the schools, making sure every student was in class where they belonged. He held each teacher personally accountable for their students learning what was necessary to pass the state aptitude exam. This state aptitude exam is an organizational way that the state would survey the students’ learning. This is why Joe Clark held the teachers responsible for the students’ learning. Apparently, prior to Joe Clark going to Eastside High School, the leadership didn’t lead the students into fighting for their education. Joe Clark did that. Joe Clark fought for every student that he had that took the initiative to become better students. His leadership style was very unconventional. He chased the gang members...

Words: 495 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Media Analysis

...The movie which I chose was Lean On Me. From this movie, a conceited and unconventional educator comes back as principal to the idyllic high school from which he had previously been sacked to discover that it has become a burrow of drug abuse, mob violence, in addition to urban misery. Ultimately his efficacious but unorthodox approaches lead to a conflict with city executives that threaten to undo all his exertions. The school located in Paterson, New Jersey, has below average basic skills test scores. Consequently, it is faced with the likelihood of being taken over by the municipal. Therefore, the mayor asks the institute administrator for help, and he proposes that they employ the scandalous Joe Clark as the school head. Clark reluctantly agrees to become its next head. And when Clark arrives, he shakes things up by recasting instructors as well as calling all of them ineffectual. And it is not long before a lot of individuals demand for his removal. However, but at the same time, Clark gains the admiration of some of the instructors and the learners when he gradually turns round the fortunes of the school. Information is exchanged for a variety of reasons and it flows both ways. Communication plays a crucial role in modeling and upholding acceptable superior-subordinate relations. There are numerous concepts at play in superior-subordinate communication. Key among them include feedback, upward influence, and trust. First, upward communication or influence refers to the...

Words: 884 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Penn State Scandal

...Penn State has done something truly remarkable the past few years. Not only have they resurrected their football program, they’ve restored it as a powerhouse in college football. With continued effort and divine help in the coming years, the Nittany Lions could soon compete for a national championship with head coach James Franklin deserving the credit. Franklin, who the university hired in January 2014, filled the void left by Bill O’Brien, who fled the college to coach the NFL’s Houston Texans. Penn State hired O’Brien in January 2012 to take over for interim head coach Tom Bradley, who had spent more than 30 years at Penn State. That brings us to who Bradley filled in for. It has been six years since Penn State unceremoniously axed Joe Paterno, as well as several other big wigs at the school. It’s well known that Paterno was fired because of the child sex abuse scandal involving longtime assistant Jerry Sandusky, but it’s still amazing how much the scandal lingers in the American psyche....

Words: 1063 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Athletes Salaries: Are They Justified?

...feed or how many kids could go to college with that money. Unfortunately, $90 million is the contract Nike gave Lebron James before he even touched an NBA basketball. $80 million was his contract extension in 2006 (USA Today). During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the biggest news in pro sports was Babe Ruth's contract, which paid him $75,000 per year, more than the President of the United States. (Show me the money!) According to the Seattle Times, when confronted about making more than the president, Ruth famously replied “Why Not? I had a better year than him.” Now even the lowest paid pro athletes earn almost as much as the President, who makes $400,000 a year. Later, in 1964, the Saint Louis Cardinals and the New York Jets got in a bidding war over Alabama quarterback, Joe Namath. The Jets came out on top, showing Namath a pretty decent deal. According to Harvey Frommer, sports author, Namath was “signed to a four-year contract at $25,000 per season, plus a $200,000 bonus. Scouting jobs were provided for his three brothers and a brother-in-law at $10,000 a year. A green Lincoln Continental plus other luxury features were included in the deal which totaled approximately $427,000 - a lot of money for that time.” ---------------------------------------------- II. Primary Argument: II-a. Claim: I argue that professional athletes are overpaid. II-b. Grounds: The...

Words: 1205 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

A Matter of Ethics

...A Matter of Ethics John Hilger Ashford University Personal and Organizational Ethics PHI 445 Stephen Carter February 07, 2014 A Matter of Ethics Business ethics is something that all companies and organizations need to be mindful of. It isn’t something that just the large and powerful for-profit organizations need to worry about, but it is something that not for-profit organizations have to be cautious as well. I plan to show how two large well known institutions failed to live up to these. Penn State is one of the more widely recognized leaders in higher education. It first came into existence in 1855, when the Commonwealth chartered it as one of the nation’s first colleges of agricultural science. And it’s goal was to apply scientific principles to farming. Penn State’s main campus is located in the small city of State College; State College is a quintessential college town with small eateries and quirky little shops that line the streets. There are a total of 24 locations of the campus throughout the Pennsylvania area. Penn State’s tax exempt status is the same as most not for profit state schools and the company is 501c3. Through my research I was unable to find out the date that it was granted or if there was an umbrella organization. According to Penn State’s Alumni Insider from their December 2009 Issue, there are 44,000 full-time and part-time employees at all of the locations. One of the biggest obstacles that any and all institutions of higher learning...

Words: 1742 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Jerry Sandusky: The Penn State Scandal

...The Penn State scandal over the internet gave similar testimonies as to what took place all those years on the Pennsylvania campus. It involved Jerry Sandusky and his child molestation behavior. However, one article focuses on just how involved Joe Paterno, the head football coach, was with the information that he knew about but chose to conceal. An investigation uncovered that Jerry Sandusky, Paterno’s assistant coach had sexually assaulted ten young boys (Belson, 2012). Louis Freeh was a former federal judge and director of the FBI who was involved in the investigation. His report, according to Belson (2012), pointed out that the senior officials at the school turned a blind’s eye toward the welfare of children. Their silence attributed to...

Words: 258 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Field of Bull

...Formalist directors have no desire to show reality. They want to show their personal vision of the world and how they want their audience to view it. They are concerned with mythical and spiritual truths that can best be represented by distorting the image of reality. Classicism to bring in a third theory is all about ideal storytelling, it lies somewhere in between realism and formalism. (Understanding Movies 5) The goal of a classicist is to tell a story in the best way possible. They want you to get caught up in the characters and their problems, to feel what they feel, but not be distracted by the filmmaking techniques. The two films we screened in class Bull Durham directed by Ron Shelton, and Field of Dreams based on the novel Shoeless Joe directed by Phil Alden Robinson both demonstrate these film theories throughout their movies but in a very different matter. Bull Durham is a great realistic example of what the sport of baseball means to the men who play it. It's all about the dreams, the desire to compete, and the ultimate goal to one day be part of the “show.” The players in the minors endure long, hot days of riding sub par buses, while making a barely livable wage, just for one shot at making it to the big leagues. Bull Durham was able to show the passion behind the sport, without overly misrepresenting the image of professional athletes. The players aren't illustrated as heroes but instead they're shown as passionate men...

Words: 1632 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Penn State Scandal Analysis

...On at least one occasion, McQueary told Paterno, Schultz, and Curley about a sexual encounter that took place on campus resulting in no activation of law enforcement (Inside the Penn State Scandal, n.d.). During the course of a following grand jury hearing, Curley and Schulz were charged with failure to report and perjury for their untruthfulness about the sexual abuse allegations (Inside the Penn State Scandal, n.d.). Eventually, Paterno acknowledged McQueary’s disclosure and was fired by Penn State University (Inside the Penn State Scandal, n.d.). As a result of their investigation, an independent panel commission by Penn State and headed by former FBI Director Louis Freeh issued a report determining that Penn State leaders, including Paterno, covered up Sandusky’s sexual abuse in order to protect the football program (Inside the Penn State Scandal,...

Words: 803 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Casino Postmodern Gangster

...Casino (1995) Postmodern Gangster Thriller A Universal Studios Film. Directed by Martin Scorsese. Written by Nicholas Pileggi and Martin Scorsese. Book by Nicholas Pileggi. Produced by Barbara De Fina. Cinematography by Robert Richardson. Edited by Thelma Schoonmaker. Casting by Ellen Lewis. Production Design by Dante Ferreti. Art Direction by Jack G. Taylor. Set Decoration by Rick Simpson. Costume Design by Rita Ryack and John Dunn. Running Time: 178 minutes. Cast: Robert De Niro (Sam “Ace” Rothstein), Sharon Stone (Ginger McKenna), Joe Pesci (Nicky Santoro), James Woods (Lester Diamond), Don Rickles (Billy Sherbert), Alan King (Andy Stone), Kevin Pollack (Phillip Green), L.Q. Jones (Dick Webb), Dick Smothers (Senator), Frank Vincent (Frank Marino), John Bloom (Don Ward), Pasquale Cajano (Remo Gaggi), Melissa Prophet (Jennifer Santoro), Bill Allison (John Nance), Vinny Vella (Artie Piscano) “This is a fictional story with fictional characters adapted from a true story.” This disclaimer which appears during the ending credits to Martin Scorsese’s 1995 film Casino seems to epitomize this Postmodern gangster film’s tenuous relationship to reality. Although based on the actual lives of gangsters Frank “Lefty” Rosenthal and Tony “The Ant” Spilotro, screenwriters Scorsese and Nicholas Pileggi opted to take enormous liberties with the historical data on the two men. The resulting disclaimer, confusing and seemingly selfcontradictory, reflects Postmodernism’s lack of faith in objective...

Words: 1671 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

The One

...Formalist directors have no desire to show reality. They want to show their personal vision of the world and how they want their audience to view it. They are concerned with mythical and spiritual truths that can best be represented by distorting the image of reality. Classicism to bring in a third theory is all about ideal storytelling, it lies somewhere in between realism and formalism. (Understanding Movies 5) The goal of a classicist is to tell a story in the best way possible. They want you to get caught up in the characters and their problems, to feel what they feel, but not be distracted by the filmmaking techniques. The two films we screened in class Bull Durham directed by Ron Shelton, and Field of Dreams based on the novel Shoeless Joe directed by Phil Alden Robinson both demonstrate these film theories throughout their movies but in a very different matter. Bull Durham is a great realistic example of what the sport of baseball means to the men who play it. It's all about the dreams, the desire to compete, and the ultimate goal to one day be part of the “show.” The players in the minors endure long, hot days of riding sub par buses, while making a barely livable wage, just for one shot at making it to the big leagues. Bull Durham was able to show the passion behind the sport, without overly misrepresenting the image of professional athletes. The players aren't illustrated as heroes but instead they're shown as passionate men...

Words: 1632 - Pages: 7