Does Joe Louis mean more to you than just boxing?

I admired his class in deporting himself like a professional, not running down his opponents, not making excuses, ect. (I'm glad, when he wanted to leave the ring before the decision for the first fight with Walcott, that he listened to his handlers).
My dad (b. 1927) remembers being very suprised how hateful a lot of people seemed to feel towards Joe when he became champion. But it seems like most people of that generation remember Louis with affection, so I guess he won a lot of people over.

 

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Joe Louis was a great figure that transcended the world of boxing when he represented the side of good in the Schmeling rematch, and when he made that speech saying that "we were on God's side", and giving his entire purses of a couple of title defenses to the Armed Forces like he did.

 

He is a true hero, not just in boxing but he did ground breaking work in black folks being accepted in sports and in general. He sacrificed himself by being humble and politically correct while no doubt he wanted to rage against the injustice he saw. That takes balls. He will never be forgotten.

 

He's more or less the Bizarro world version of Jack Johnson, and deserves massives amounts of respect for completely different reasons.

He's also maybe the best example of the hypocrisy and sub-human behavior of the certain facets of our goverment.

 

On another thread I posted his bio and obituary. Class act who change the perception some caucasians had of blacks.

As the saying goes, he was a credit to his race. His race being the human race.

 

Joe Louis is the ****.

 

No he does not mean more to me than just boxing.

Jack Johnson does however.

 

I am British and I admire what he did in terms of civil rights imensley.

It is a case study, of an essentialy normal man, having an unbearable responsibility dumped on his shoulders, and somehow beating the odds.

 

even max s admire him and look up to him

 

Even Max?

You say it like Schmeling was some kind of gruff *******.

 

There is a quote that said Joe Louis was a credit to his race, the human race.

Louis was a true hero, but not one without fault outside the ring.

 

Joe Louis says that "I will go along with Jim Crow on the outside(civilian world) "& the fact that friends like Truman Gibson(Military Adviser) found that he was disappointingly reluctant to take up 'issues of discrimination' goes to the heart of why he was seen as less than heroic to some Blacks of the Civil rights era. Jim Brown , Ali(called him an Uncle Tom) & others openly criticized his deafening silence on most issues of substance to the Civil Rights movement.

That being said he for over a decade served as a proud symbol to Americans (Black & White alike) racially/patriotically.:happy But he was only a Prizefighter & was aware of this when he says "Jackie Robison is my hero. He didn't bite his tongue for nothing. I just didn't have the guts... to say what he says". At least Joe Louis was aware of his legacy as Jim Brown, Ali & others were quick to point out.(Although they both respected the man overall).
His backward way of dealing with oppression was simply rejected by athletes like Kareem Abdul Jabaar, Jim Brown, Ali, Tommy Smith,John carlos ,etc........ as they knew it to be ineffective.