The Monument to Joe Louis, known also as ''The Fist'', is a memorial dedicated to boxer Joe Louis located at the intersection of Jefferson Avenue and Woodward Avenue in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, near

Hart Plaza Philip A. Hart Plaza, in downtown Detroit, is a city plaza along the Detroit River. It is located more or less on the site at which Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac landed in 1701 when he founded '' Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit' ...

History

Dedicated on October 16, 1986, the sculpture, commissioned by ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

'' from the Mexican-American sculptor Robert Graham (1938–2008), and poured by the legendary bronze artist, Rolf Kriken, is a arm with a fisted hand suspended by a pyramidal framework. The sculpture weighs 5000 pounds and the total weight including the framework is 8000 pounds. The inscription on the back of the arm reads:
MONUMENT
TO
JOE LOUIS
BY
ROBERT GRAHAM

A GIFT FROM SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
TO THE PEOPLE OF THE CITY OF
DETROIT. THE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF
ARTS AND ITS FOUNDERS SOCIETY
ON THE OCCASION OF THE MUSEUM'S
CENTENNIAL. 1885-1985.
It represents the power of his punch both inside and outside the ring. Because of Louis' efforts to fight

Jim Crow laws The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...

, the fist was symbolically intended as a statement against racism. Graham referred to the sculpture as a "battering ram". It is claimed to be an historical metaphor, even down to its placement (pointing toward Canada). originally appeared in ''Detroit Unspun''. The sculpture was vandalized by two white men in 2004, who covered it in white paint and left a sign which read, "Courtesy of Fighting Whities". Graham responded that the piece was "working" if it aroused passion.

References

{{reflist Tourist attractions in Detroit 1986 sculptures Bronze sculptures in Michigan Sculptures of African Americans 1986 establishments in Michigan Vandalized works of art in Michigan Statues of sportspeople Cultural depictions of Joe Louis