This 8,000 pound, 24 ft. bronze arm and fist was sculpted by Robert Graham in honor of the great boxer Joe Louis. Louis became internationally famous when he defeated Germany’s Max Schmeling to become the heavyweight champion in 1938. As an African American, Louis’ victory became a challenge to Adolf Hitler’s belief in Aryan supremacy. The monument, also known as “the fist”, was unveiled in October 1987 as a gift to the city of Detroit. Public reception of the sculpture was mixed. Some were offended by what they saw as the “violence emblematic of the city of Detroit”*. Others saw it as an assertion of black power.

On February 23, 2004 the sculpture, particularly the fist, was covered in glossy white paint. At the base of the monument, photos of two white police offers, Fettig and Bowens, who were killed on February 16, 2004 were found signed "Courtesy of Fighting Whities". The suspected killer of the police officers is black. Two suburban Detroit men, Brett Cashman, 45, and John T. Price, 27, were arrested. They claimed that their actions were not racially motivated. They were jailed for six days and served 21 days on house arrest.

back | main | next