Daughter of Detroit Boxing Legend Joe Louis Wants Greenway Project to Honor Her Father’s Legacy
It’s taken years of planning and the efforts of many to get Detroit’s Joe Louis Greenway project off the ground. As the efforts to unite the City of Detroit with three other communities progress, the project’s organizers say it’s only appropriate that the work honors the legacy of a local legend.
Leona Medley, executive director of the Joe Louis Greenway partnership, said that some people find vehicle ownership unattainable. That’s why the Joe Louis Greenway aims to connect people through multiple modes of transportation, she explained.
“(It) is really a part of how we’re focused on transportation equity and transportation justice for our residents,” she said in an interview with WXYZ-TV.
The 29.7-mile Greenway is a biking and walking path that will connect the Detroit riverfront to neighborhoods in the north, including the communities of Dearborn, Hamtramck, and Highland Park. More than eight miles of the Greenway are available for use, and an additional four miles will undergo construction in 2025.
Joyce Barrow-Henderson, the daughter of Detroit boxing legend Joe Louis, is a board member of the Greenway partnership. She believes the Greenway will forge lasting memories for families and bring Joe Louis’s story of perseverance and resilience to younger generations.
“Joe Louis was just this kid from Black Bottom Detroit who became a symbol of excellence in a time when Black men couldn’t hold their head up,” she said in an interview with WXYZ-TV. “Getting in the ring was never a possibility for me, so carrying on the work that went on well after (Joe) exited the ring is very exciting, and I think really does live out his legacy.”
