Lesson Plans
Joe Louis:
America’s Hero…Betrayed
Grades: High School
Subject Area: History, Journalism, Sports
Made Possible By: HBO
Sports history intertwines with world history and the African-American struggle for equal rights in this study guide to the HBO documentary Joe Louis: America’s Hero—Betrayed. Students learn how Louis’s come-back victory over the German Max Schmeling struck a blow against Nazism on the eve of World War II, compare Louis and baseball great Jackie Robinson as champions of the civil rights movement, and explore the concept of heroism that Joe Louis embodied.
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Complete Program
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