Maya Angelou informs us in her memoirs about her childhood in Arkansas, where she and her older brother, Bailey, grew up. She was born Marguerite White in Saint Louis, Missouri, in 1928. She had a difficult childhood, having been raped at the age of 8, becoming an unwed mother at sixteen, and coming from a dysfunctional household. Fortunately, their grandma and Uncle Willie’s shop, which served as a meeting place for African-Americans, took good care of them. As the Christian national conference organizer from the South, Angelou chose to join a dance group for an African-themed television series. She directed a feature picture that earned her a Medal of Honor and landed her in the Women’s National Hall of Fame for the foreseeable future.
Maya Angelou gives us a tale of the “Brown Bomber,” Louis Joe, who was a hero in his community and who defended his heavyweight boxing title against a white guy on the night of all these occurrences. While doing so, she describes what it was like for her growing up as an African American in the South during that period. Uncle Willies decides to crank up the radio so that no one in the audience will miss any action throughout the game. In the kitchen and on wooden boxes, women took their places at the tables. Women carried infants and children, while men relied on one other and available shelves for support. Maya says that she wasn’t scared since she expected the black contestant to beat the white one so quickly that he’d wind up calling the white one mama afterward. Maya went on to say that when the discussion finished, a quick jab on the head was administered, and everyone in the room grunted. Only one person was allowed to speak, and he was forced to do it like a coward.
When the contestants had settled their differences, and the Bomber was still fighting for his life on the porch, a humorous and irate commentator said, “The white guy don’t mind embracing the niggah now” in response. Black Americans and whites had a fractured relationship, as shown by this remark. The match’s referee got closer to try to keep them apart, but Louis was able to shove the white guy aside and deliver an uppercut to the chin in the process. A left hook to Carnera’s head followed by a right hook to his head caught him off-guard, and Louis seemed to rescue the black race for the rest of the fight. Maya had high expectations for Louis Joe, and she thought he would win. When it was all said and done, Louis Joe was the new heavyweight world champion after defeating the white opponent. One would assume it was a Christmas celebration since the blacks were so ecstatic and consumed Coca-Cola and sweets.
People remained at the shop for well over an hour before finally departing for their homes. Those traveling from a distance had made plans to stay in the city. In the wake of Louis Joe’s feat of strength, it wouldn’t do for an African-American man and his whole family to be left alone on a rural road. There was no way the whites could accept a black guy had defeated them.
Work Cited
Barrow, Joe Louis, and Barbara Munder. Joe Louis. McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1988.
Mederson, Mark A. “Joe Louis: The first black white hope.” Sports Media History. Routledge, 2020. 54-68.
