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America Got it Wrong… AgainDocuPoem by: Philip-Paul July 16, 2009 They told us that we were not worthy of the respect given the average white man They told us that we could not do the things that the most ignorant white’s can They told us that we were lazy and from any kind of hard labor we always ran They told us that we had not accomplished much of anything during our life span Joe Louis was born in nineteen fourteen, forty nine years after the emancipation Joe was a simple man with great love for his country and a deep honest dedication Joe did much for this country and Black people to alter its racist vile reputation Joe at one point carried the hope and dreams of every American in this nationEvery sentence in the newspapers about Joe made reference to the color of his skinBrown Bomber; Black menace; dark destroyer; Sepia Soccer again, again & againWriters made it clear that this man whatever he accomplished would not fit inAccepting Joe as a great human being would be liken to committing a venal sin They said that Joe becoming heavy weight champ would cause riots across the land They said that never would they allow it to happen he was not enough of a man They said Joe was a freak and loved watermelon and was too lazy to withstand They said Joe was would not make the grade there are no Black men that can Joe Louis had the weight of the entire Black race on his broad heroic backCan you begin to imagine that kind of pressure and responsibility and the flack Joe beat Primo and Max Baer with quiet dignity which he never ever lacked Joe gave America its first insight to Black American life he never asked for slackJoe fought during the misted of the Great depression there was little to rejoice Joe not only gave our community pride, toughness and dignity he gave us a voice Joe, like many folks in America, came from a background where eyes are moist Joe proved to us before and after that we will have many triumphs to hoistAfter Joe defeated Max Baer the people ran out to the street on wings of air They had to share their joy in the neighborhood there wasn’t a soul not thereHe is our knight in shining armor; he is the manhood that we all deep down shareHe brought back a fundamental that has been stolen, he helping us again care Joe told the world if you give us an equal playing field, you will never hold us backAt twenty-one years, Joe made four hundred thousand all he needed was a crackIf given a chance to fight for the championship he would help America get on track There’s much Joe taught us about withstanding pressure for this he had a knack Joe was generous to a fault he gave so much to other for his family little stayed Joe wanted so bad to be champion for ten years he gave 10% of his purse awayBefore Joe could fight for the championship he had to give Schmeling his daySchmeling had a few tricks of his own and he put Joe plans in much arrayAfter Joe lost to Schmeling even Black folks wanted to put him so much down
 
 Joe remained humble because he knew inside his chance would come back around There was no shouting and complaining, from Joe’s mouth not a mean sound Joe knew that he could come back there was nothing to stop his mighty reboundThe fact that Schmeling had defeated Joe, didn’t stop Joe from the champ’s belt The deal was in for Joe to pay off Braddock which caused his money to melt Joe’s manager, Jacob had duped him and for decade this bad deal was much felt Joe now had the Championship belt, but he knew his pride had larger weltsHitler at the time spoke loudly of the Aryan superior race and the inferior BlackHitler said that Schmeling was the real champ and he would begin a new trackFor the first time a Black man became America’s great white hope it’s like thatSuddenly Joe became an American hero “they” decided to want him backIn 1938 Joe fought Max again; Joe worked hard to prepare for this great night Joe was certain that he wouldn’t make the same mistake he made in the first fight This time when he threw his left jab he would quickly follow it up with his right Joe was so upset by his defeat he feared that he would accidently kill Max on sightAmerica entered World War II; Joe was drafted and served honorably by rule Joe fought two exhibition fight given his purses to the army& Navy Relief and youSome thought he was naive others thought worst and called him a dam foolBut Joe knew what he was doing and although not perfect he loved America too Joe served the Army for 4 long years he earned $21 a month but he still spentWhen he left the services of his country he barely had a single red centBy this time the government decided that Joe did in fact owe them back rentFor that time forward they taxed Joe at 90% and from this they wouldn’t relent Joe lost 4 years of his earning capacity to serve his country at great personal cost This was the prime of his life no one can calculate what greatness was therein lost The way the government repaid him for his loyalty was enough to cause our frost They even took Joe’s children’s trust from hero to tax delinquent he was tossed Joe united the Black community in a way never before experienced in that wayWhite admitted that Joe was the first Black that they could good things say Joe defended his title 18 straight times a record that stands as a record today Joe fought so often that manger Jacob made enough on Joe to early walk away Joe was exposed to the Army’s double standard; it was segregated for his kind Joe finally got the clear understand and suddenly he smartly improved his mind Joe said no more exhibition fights unless there is a seat for a Brother to find Joe was tired of supporting his government while he and his get left behindOnce the war was over Joe had outlived his usefulness to white America’s planWe had defeated Hitler and its allies what more need did we have for this manHis money was gone and he was four years older; he can make it as catch canWho wants to see this guy anymore we are taking a new racist white stand The very government that made him a hero was not hounding him for back taxes
 
 The way the government came after Joe you would think he was part of the Axis The minute Joe was released from the Army he was completely broke to the maxisNow the hounded instead of the hound Joe had to disgrace himself for access Joe had to keep fighting to pay off America Joe lost his first fight in 14 yearsHe lost to Ezzard Charles and then he fought to pay the bills without the cheersAt 37 years he fought Marciano with little chance to help pay for his arrears Joe next fight was with Horton Smith to play in a PGA sanctioned over tears They made Joe wrestle so he could pay his government tax obligation on timeIt was if there was too much good living Joe had, had it won’t leave their mindBut here’s the greatest irony while Joe is left by America broke, disgrace & behindSchmeling is tapped by Coke Cocoa to be a distributor to all Germany kindDecency, nice guy, great professional and a guy that got screwed my U.S.A.I took this quote from Congressmen Rangel as I listen to what he had to sayHe said it with a smile because this is an old familiar story in our life playIt’s up to our community to make sure Joe gets remembered the right wayI’ll try to be as understanding as a Black man that has lived here over sixty yearsI remember well how we were brought up with respect for our elder’s tears Joe out lived his usefulness to white American, but with us he should have no fearsI regret we were not the champion Joe was, because his word fell on our deaf ears The rage we Blacks felt in the sixties predate Joe’s view of the land that he loved Joe thought in different terms, he felt that there was help coming from aboveWe couldn’t remember what he’d done, because “crisis thinking” caused this snubWhere else would one find racist whites & Black militants in harmony with the gov There’s another important matter that I feel I must here righty addressI love Jackie Roosevelt Robinson as one of the world’s human pioneers bestBut there’s one dispute about who opened the doors to sports for us put to restIt was Joe ten years earlier than Jackie to this even the great Jackie would confessMuhammad Ali decided to step up and call Joe Barrow Louis a vicious nameI must admit that I’ve long had problems with Ali because his is without ShameAli went beyond the limit of dignity berating people to himself he’s much defamesWhen I review Joe and Ali’s life I am clear on who won the real “Greatest Game”Philip-Paul 2009
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