Joe Barrow Louis was born, on May 13, 1914, in Lafayette, Alabama. His parents were Munroe and Lillie Barrow Louis. Who were poor tenant farmers. Joe was the seventh of eight children. Joe Louis had a disadvantage of being black, at a time when it was difficult for African Americans to get opportunities for education and employment. His second disadvantage was that he was very poor.
Joe's father died when Louis was only 4 years old. Louis mother got remarried, but the family was still poor. Louis was blessed with a strong family and deeply religious beliefs. His mother was attentive and very strict. Louis grew up to be a generous boy who accepted others. At age 12 his family joined the African American migration from the rural south to the urban north. The Louis family settled in Detroit. Louis was a large boy at age 12. When Louis went to school he felt embarrassed because he had a speech problem and was assigned to classes with smaller children.
Louis had many odd jobs as a teenager, and for recreation he began boxing with other kids in the neighborhood. Louis spent some of the money he earned on violin lessons, but used the rest of the money he got to rent a locker at the Brewster Recreation Center, where he began a successful boxing career.
When Joe Louis began his career John Roxborough sponsored him, who was the king of illegal betting in Detroit's black ghettos. Later, Louis moved to Chicago where Jack Blackburn, a skilled trainer, worked with him. He trained him every day to get him in shape and eventually Jack Blackburn made Louis a great boxer. .
By 1935, Louis had won 18 professional fights and was bumping against the barriers of segregation. It was really hard for African Americans to be noticed as great athletes in America because they were not allowed to participate in major sports. Louis wanted to have a chance to fight for the heavyweight title, but African Americans were not allowed to fight for that title.
