Joe says he was raised in so many places, depending on his audience, that who can tell?
Piecing together his bio as he’s recited it over the years: he was born a poor black child in 1942. He was recognized as exceptional from birth and was universally hailed by resident of his hometown as “THE Scranton kid,” to distinguish him from the run of the mill children who occupied the town. He regularly held forth on the family’s “kitchen table” discussions on gasoline prices and other issues to the day, even after it became necessary to actually subpoena family members to attend and listen to him.
To support his struggling family, he became a long haul trucker at age 6.
In school, he was brilliant. He earned every recognition his school offered, and the school district actually faced bankruptcy as a result of having to pay for all the trophies, pins, sashes, and medals that were awarded to him.
At age 11 he became a leading figure in the civil rights movement. Virulent white supremacists in Wilmington actually lynched him, but he was not deterred in his advocacy of civil rights legislation and adoption of “right turn on red” in his home state.