LaFayette honors native boxing great

LAFAYETTE – When he used his reach advantage in the ring, Joe Louis Barrow’s opponents were often sent to the canvas in defeat.

However, it would be Barrow’s ability to reach the hearts and minds of a nation that has continued to endear the boxer, affectionately known as the “Brown Bomber,” to many.

Saturday, an 8-foot-tall bronze statue of the boxing icon was unveiled in front of the Chambers County Courthouse before a large crowd that included everyone from family and friends to local politicians and former professional athletes.

Mobile sculptor Casey Downing Jr. created the Joe Louis statue, which was cast by Diversified Metalsmiths Inc. Downing also presented the boxer’s son, Joe Louis Barrow Jr., with a smaller version of the statue at Saturday’s unveiling.

“This is truly a wonderful day for Chambers County and LaFayette,” Barrow Jr. said. “To be able to have a community reach out and recognize one of its favorite sons is something I’ll always be grateful for.”

The Joe Louis Statue Committee was instrumental in coordinating efforts that raised the necessary funds for the statue.

Barrow Jr. said he fondly remembers the stories of his father’s in-ring heroics, one of which was the 1938 rematch between his father and Max Schmeling. In an earlier 1936 bout, Schmeling had beaten Barrow.

In the rematch, Barrow won in the first round with a knockout of Schmeling.

“It was at that point, my father transcended being the heavyweight champion to being an American hero to both blacks and whites alike,” said Barrow, who resides in Florida.

It was also a moment that the younger Barrow said challenged the social conscious of many Americans as the start of World War II loomed.

“You couldn’t have it both ways where you place your hero, who happens to be black, on a pedestal and yet not let him eat where he wanted to, sleep where he wanted to and be educated in a manner in which he should be educated,” he said.

What the boxer meant as a leader for social change and paving the way for future black athletes, resonated with 14-year National Football League veteran and Valley native Marcus Pollard.

“The name Joe Louis is synonymous with being a trailblazer,” Pollard said. “When you think of Joe Louis, you think of the heavyweight champ who was not only physically strong, but a man of strong character.”

As both tourists and locals alike visit the town of LaFayette and stop to see the statue, the younger Barrow said he hopes they’ll see a man who was “a little larger than life.”

“But more importantly what they’ll see is a man who had a broad impact on society and who was revered by so many, and even though his beginnings were modest as part of a sharecropping family, he was still able to succeed in life,” he said. “And even though he was the heavyweight champion of the world, my father held the title with a level of dignity and grace and never forgot where he came from and those who were important to him.”