Joe Louis was the 10-to-1 favorite over the German boxer Max Schmeling before their first bout on June 19, 1936. Each man was fighting for a shot at the world heavyweight boxing championship.

"There was never a Harlem like the Harlem of last night. Take a dozen Christmases, a score of New Year's Eves, a bushel of July 4th's and maybe -- yes maybe -- you get a faint glimpse of the idea.

"Even white folks on the job that would say nigger 50 times a day, that would say boy this and boy that, would light up when they talked about Joe," says civil rights activist Dick Gregory about ...