Boxer Joe Louis was the first African-American "household name" familiar to most white Americans. During his reign as heavyweight boxing champion from 1938 to 1949, Louis did what no other black athlete had done before: He earned the respect and devotion of a mass audience of middle-class whites across the nation. His 1938 victory over Max Schmeling came to symbolize the conflict between the democratic United States and Nazi Germany, while providing African-Americans with a national celebrity. According to biographer Richard Bak, "In his day he was the most famous black man in America." Louis's heroics in the ring came to represent the potential ability of African-Americans to overcome racism and discrimination. Before Jackie Robinson integrated baseball in 1947, Joe Louis truly was "The Great Black Hope."

Joe Louis

Joe Louis was born Joseph Louis Barrow in Lexington, Alabama, on May 13, 1914. He accompanied his family to Detroit soon...