Those are 11 ways to say, “Joe Louis is Black.” The file, collated by Ford’s marketing research department, contains 32 letters by dealers and regional and district managers.

As Randy Roberts wrote in Joe Louis: Hard Times Man, "Attempts to recover the money between 1951 and 1962 made Louis' life a financial hell. Agents wrote him letters and called him on the phone.

Joe Louis was a titan, the undisputed heavyweight boxing champion for more than 12 years (with a record 23 title defenses) and probably the greatest American hero of the 20th century.

On his 100th birthday (he was born May 13, 1914, in Alabama), LIFE celebrates the man known to several generations as the 'Brown Bomber.' ...

How Racist Car Dealers KO’d Joe Louis A never-before-published tranche of letters reveals the white-collar racism that prevented the world’s most popular athlete from selling Fords.