John Arthur ("Jack") Johnson, an American boxer at the height of the Jim Crow era, Johnson became the first African-American world heavyweight boxing champion of the world from 1908–1915. In this photo, Johnson is fighting James Jefferies, and Ken Burns noted that, "for more than thirteen years, Jack Johnson was the most famous and the most notorious African-American on Earth." Photo Credit: Wikipedia

By Russell Roberts.  Boxer Jack Johnson was one of the first black athletes to achieve large-scale success. Unfortunately, he had the bad timing to do it while Jim Crow was rampant in America.

Jack Johnson, born on March 31, 1878 in Galveston, Texas, whose parents were former slaves and raised six children total. He started boxing early in his teens, and eventually grew to be a muscular physical specimen standing six feet tall and with a reach of 174 inches, he became known as the “Galveston Giant.”

Despite his size and power, however, Johnson was just a fair boxer until 1901, when he fought veteran heavyweight Joe Choynski in Texas. Police arrested both fighters after the bout, which Choynski won. During their jail time together, Choynski taught Johnson all the tricks he had picked up in his years in the ring. Thereafter Johnson moved steadily up in the boxing hierarchy, winning fight after fight. However, only whites could compete in the heavyweight championship of the world.

Johnson tried to get reigning heavyweight champion James J. Jeffries to fight him, but Jeffries decided to retire undefeated. However, in 1908, new heavyweight champion Tommy Burns agreed to fight Johnson. Johnson beat him like a drum for 14 rounds, becoming the first black heavyweight champion of the world.

The reaction among many Americans and in the media to an African-American heavyweight champion was mass hysteria, and a rapid succession of white fighters were set up to fight – and lose – to Johnson, as the search for a “Great White Hope” got more and more frantic. Finally, an out-of-shape Jeffries was convinced to come out of retirement and win back the title for the glory of the white race.

The “Fight of the Century” took place on July 4, 1910 in Reno, Nevada. Johnson completely dominated Jeffries and won in 15 rounds. While African-Americans celebrated the victory, whites erupted in anger. More than two dozen states and cities suffered race riots. Newspapers everywhere advised African-Americans not to be too proud or jubilant. The showing of films of Johnson beating Jeffries were considered so incendiary that Congress passed a law prohibiting boxing films to be transported across state lines.

Johnson did his part to inflame things by his very public romances with white women and his displays of wealth and success. Once, when pulled over for a $50 speeding ticket, he gave the cop a $100 dollar bill because he intended to make the return trip at the same speed. Eventually, he was convicted on a trumped-up charge of violating the Mann Act, and was forced to flee the United States. He lost the heavyweight title in Cuba and ultimately returned home where a sham trial resulted in a prison sentence of one year. He never fought for the heavyweight title again.

In 1946, Jack Johnson died as he had lived. Angered by a racial incident, he drove his car too fast, and died in an accident.

Sources

1. Unforgiveable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson – Geoffrey C. Ward.

2. Unforgiveable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson – A film by Ken Burns.

By Russell Roberts