HBO and Comcast In Partnership With The 100 Black Men of DeKalb County Celebrate Black History Month With The Atlanta Premiere of 'Joe Louis: America's Hero ... Betrayed' on Tuesday, February 19 at The Carter Presidential Center

HBO and Comcast In Partnership With The 100 Black Men of DeKalb County Celebrate Black History Month With The Atlanta Premiere of 'Joe Louis: America's Hero ... Betrayed' on Tuesday, February 19 at The Carter Presidential Center

Special guests will include Joe Louis' son, Joe Louis Barrow, Jr.,
HBO Sports President, Ross Greenburg, and the film's Producer, Joe Lavine

HBO and Comcast have partnered with the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County to host the invitation-only Atlanta premiere of the HBO Sports documentary JOE LOUIS: AMERICA'S HERO ... BETRAYED on Tuesday, February 19 at 7:15 pm at The Carter Presidential Center. Joe Louis Barrow, Jr., son of Joe Louis; Ross Greenburg, president of HBO Sports; and Joe Lavine, the film's producer, will attend the premiere. Among the audience will be high school student proteges of the 100 Black Men of DeKalb County's mentor program.

"Our organization is proud to partner with HBO and Comcast to premiere this educational and inspiring documentary on a man who contributed so much to the sport of boxing," said Bernard Taylor, president of the 100 Black Men of DeKalb. "We believe that our students will walk away from this experience better informed of the impact Joe Louis had on our history and how they can be a part of changing today for a better tomorrow."

JOE LOUIS: AMERICA'S HERO ... BETRAYED, reveals how the grandson of slaves became one of the greatest heavyweights of all time, served as an iconic figure in World War II, and later carried himself with dignity and class through numerous setbacks.

"Joe Louis had an astonishing career," says Ross Greenburg, president, HBO Sports. "Retaining numerous knockout records to this day, he was a pillar of democracy and strength in a tumultuous period. In the mid-'30s, years before Jackie Robinson's arrival in Brooklyn, this boxing champion challenged preconceived notions of race and class. We will also examine how the government and IRS turned their backs on this hero and drove him into a desperate state at the end of his boxing career and life."

Born May 12, 1914, in LaFayette, Ala., Joseph Louis Barrow - who became known as the "Brown Bomber" - was America's first true crossover athlete. As the first black sports star worshipped by both black and white fans, he was respected not only for his boxing talents, but also for showing the world what a person of color could do if given the opportunity. When he fought, the world stood still.

Louis' record-breaking career began in 1934. Winning his first 27 fights, all but four by knockout, he dominated opponents. Louis held the world heavyweight title 11 consecutive years, successfully defending his title a record 25 straight times; his career record of 68-3 makes him one of the greatest heavyweights ever. "No human body can take the punishment that Jolting Joe dishes out once he goes after his prey," wrote Nat Fleischer in the April 1939 edition of The Ring magazine.

JOE LOUIS: AMERICA'S HERO ... BETRAYED underscores his importance during a critical time in America's history. From the Great Depression through World War II and into the 1950s, Joe Louis was the poster boy for the American way of life. In 1938, when Louis defeated Germany's Max Schmeling, his victory was interpreted as democracy's defeat of Nazism, boosting public morale and transforming him into a true American hero.

After spending four years in the U.S. Army and working for the government to raise money for the USO and the war, Louis found himself in financial trouble. Ironically, he was harassed by the IRS as soon as the war ended.

Once called "a credit to his race -- the human race" by sportswriter Jimmy Cannon, Joe Louis inspired a reverence accorded few other Americans. He died in 1981 in Las Vegas, four years after suffering a stroke. Louis posthumously received a Congressional Gold Medal and was given a full military funeral and burial in Arlington Cemetery.

The high-profile list of interviewees who discuss Louis' impact in the documentary includes: his son, Joe Louis Barrow, Jr.; former President Jimmy Carter; poet Maya Angelou; actor-comedian Jerry Lewis; comedian-activist Dick Gregory; Pete and Louis Marciano, brothers of boxer Rocky Marciano; writer Gay Talese; congressman Charles Rangel; golf historian Pete McDaniel; historian Gerald Early; biographer Christopher Mead; and Rabbi Joshua Haberman, among other notable writers, biographers and historians.

Chronicling the legendary boxer's tremendous impact on segregated America, the exclusive HBO presentation JOE LOUIS: AMERICA'S HERO ... BETRAYED debuts Saturday, Feb. 23 (8:00-9:15 p.m. ET); the special's PT debut begins at approximately 9:00 p.m., immediately following the live HBO Sports event "World Championship Boxing: Wladimir Klitschko vs. Sultan Ibragimov," which starts at 6:30 p.m. PT.

When the film debuts on Feb. 23 ET at 8:00 p.m., high school teachers may tape it for educational usage. An accompanying educational guide will be posted on hbo.com on Feb. 23 on the JOE LOUIS site as well as HBO's "Watch It and Learn" site.

The executive producers of JOE LOUIS: AMERICA'S HERO ... BETRAYED are Ross Greenburg and Rick Bernstein. It is produced by Joe Lavine and edited by Ultan Byrne.

CONTACT: Valerie Harris, HBO

404.966.2445

PRNewswire -- Feb. 13

Source: HBO

Web site: http://www.hbo.com/

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