I believe it is a brand new documentary... "Joe Louis... America's Hero... Betrayed". I think that's the title.
The poor man devoted his undivided energies for the duration of the war to raising money for the army and navy releif funds. He twice put his title on the line for no financial return and fought 93 exhibition bouts (which undoubtedly contributed to his ring wear post war). Then they had the efrontery to tax him on the money that he generously donated. They seized his childrens trust funds, took $40 his mother left him in her will. While I am being speculative here, I wonder if his race might have had anything to do with his treatment?
Yeah, they treated him awful by the sounds of it. I dont think his race played a part, I dont think the IRS would have treated a white fighter any different. I think his OCCUPATION and social class/status as a prizefighter probably influenced them though. Obviously they considered his future earning potential high only in the short-term, so they squeezed hard, totally ignoring what he'd done for the war effort. Meanwhile I daresay the big American industrialists who had actually done trade with and aided Hitler shortly before the war were probably escaping taxes altogether, as the big boys usually do. That's the way it goes.