What the monument of Joe Louis is mighty face means to me

In the time of “Joe Louis” “Black America” was in one of it’s most pivotal and uncomfortable positions it’s ever been in since slavery. The German Boxer “Max Schmeling” was the reigning heavyweight champion of the world and he was also the face of the Nazi party’s white supremacy ideology. He exemplified that the aryan nation’s “pure white blood” made them superior to all men in every way. Or at least they thought so until that whole theory came tumbling down soon. Joe Louis was already a great fighter but he hadn’t been properly anointed to be the representative of blacks in America as a whole until the Schmeling fight. Max Schmeling had one purpose for his career and that was to uphold the ideologies of the Nazi party he was forced to do so. Schmeling himself was never a Nazi. The Nazis were certain that aryan “pure white blood” made them unbeatable.

70 million people around the world tuned their radio dials to the fight to listen as Joe Louis loss the fight. When “The Brown Bomber” loss not only was Black America impacted negatively but also “White America” as well. The Louis loss fight confirmed in the minds of all Nazis that they where no doubt the supreme beings on earth after the undeniable proof was Max Schmeling’s victory over Joe Louis in 1936. For two years until their next fight Black America never felt more defeated since slavery. Some will say it’s petty symbolism but they where not around in those often horrific and traumatizing living circumstances of black people in the USA in the 1930s. Jim Crow law was at it’s peak at that time until almost 30 years later. Joe Louis had to win this fight with the heavy burden of an entire country on his back and he never complained.

The anticipation for the fight grew to astronomical proportions once again and America slowly began to reclaim a sort of pride and something to feel good about because the fight was an opportunity of redemption of the American spirit. But it created a synergy that led to an even more divine fortune. The fight served as a buffer to bring peace, respect, and the theoretically the same human rights as white people to black Americans. Black America and White America for the first time in history would be joined in harmony and peace. Joe Louis only had to fight this in order for it to become a reality. Louis was stressed and restless because of all the pressure but he didn’t complain he kept it moving along as if didn’t really bother him.

The entire world tuned in to the fight 10s of millions of people around the globe. America was stroked with excitement to the point where it seemed to be contagious everyone was in love with Joe. The world watched and applauded loudly as “Joe Louis” walked into the ring and took off his robe. It was a complete standing ovation for Joe and for the first time a black man was not only a hero to Black America but he was a hero to White America as well. The very idea of that for a people coming out of slavery just 75 years before put a fire inside of Joe Louis to not allow anything to stop him from winning the fight he was laser focused. In the first round of the fight “Joe Louis” knocked out “Max Schmeling” in 2:04. The streets of America bursted into what is probably the most beautiful demonstration of unity between black and white people that has ever been seen before. Black America defeated the idea of white supremacy through the hands of Joe Louis in a brutal first round knockout! In our “Detroit” Joe Louis is still in the talks of true scholars of boxing.

Experts often talk about the greatness of other boxers but they seem to have forgotten that Joe Louis is the greatest of all boxing champions. It has nothing to do with the caliber of fighters he beat, his showmanship, or seeing a black man living a glamorous lifestyle. Though those factors played a part; they were merely a byproduct of the calling on his life. For the first time America needed a hero that wasn’t white and that spoke volumes. Joe Louis brought a tangible form of reparations to an oppressed black population that were treated less than human since the day black people arrived in America wearing chains coming out hands and feet bound in yokes fresh from the slave ship. And he also brought pride to White people that were against the Nazis because they were of the purest evil known to man and that evil is racism. White Jewish Americans still had family and friends in Germany that were being terrorized daily by the powerful Nazi army.

The Joe Louis monument is a representation of how the fist of “The Brown Bomber” unified America in such a way that had never been seen before meaning it the was the most significant monument to represent unity between Black and White Americans in the country in 1986. The arm is also a representation of the power of blackness and when we come together as a fist before it strikes a blow, we can accomplish anything if we will just stick together. For that reason Joe Louis is the greatest fighter to ever live no one has ever meant what he meant to liberation as a whole since his time rather people call it symbolism or not.