Jack Johnson was the first African-American heavyweight boxing champion. Johnson was born in Galveston, Texas and began his fighting career after a combination of dropping out of school in the fifth grade and beating up a local bully (“(John Arthur)”). Johnson reached new heights when he fought and knocked out Bob Fitzsimmons, an ex-heavyweight champion, in 1906. Because he was black, however, other white boxers refused to fight the man of color. This changed, however, when Tommy Burns, the heavyweight champion, was goaded into a fight with Johnson in 1908. Johnson embarrassed Burns in the ring and claimed the heavyweight title as his own (“(John Arthur)”). This set off riots in many places in a time when boxing was a very important sport to “White America”. Jim Jeffries, a former champion, came out of retirement donned as the “Great White Hope” in an attempt to dethrone Johnson. However, on July 4, 1910, Johnson defeated Jeffries in 15 rounds. Jeffries would later say, “I could never have whipped Johnson at my best.”(“Jack”).
Johnson would later create more controversy with his numerous relationships with famous white women in a time when interracial relationships were nonexistent and considered criminal. In 1913, Johnson was convicted in a case based on a consensual relationship with a white woman (“Pardon”). In April of 2005, Senator John McCain moved to give a pardon for Johnson’s convictions based on the knowledge that they were solely based on the color of Johnson’s skin, rather than the commitment of any crime (“Pardon”). To this date, there have been no developments in the case as it has been stagnated in the senate and house, despite backings by Orrin Hatch, Ted Stevens, John Kerry, Ted Kennedy, and Harry Reid (“Pardon”).
Works Cited
“Jack Johnson.” ESPN. 24 Jan. 2001. 3 Oct. 2007
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“A Pardon for Jack Johnson?” CBS NEWS 7 Apr. 2005. 3 Oct. 2007 .
“Jack (John Arthur) Johnson (1878-1946) heavyweight boxing champion, entrepreneur.” The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. 3 Oct. 2007 .
3 comments:
Hi,
I liked your report, I follow boxing but knew very little about Johnson. But I think it is amazing that these athletes come out of no where to rise to the top and when they get there people try to bring them down. Good job.
Hi Dave,
As I read through your post, I became confused with the dates. Then I realized after all these years, people were still interested in bringing Jack Johnson's case to justice. That was nice to see. Also, it was funny to hear of all the attempts to defeat him which he triumphed against.
Jack Johnson has always been a historical sports figure who has always been of interest to me. I remember a few years ago a series, I believe on PBS, was made about his life. I found your post to be put together in a good, brief, precise, and informative method.
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