Johnson, Jack (1878-1946)

Jack Johnson, the first modern African American heavyweight boxing champion of the world, served as a lightning rod for the racial turmoil of the early twentieth century. Johnson won the heavyweight title in 1906 and then defeated a series of "Great White Hopes," culminating in his epic match with ex-champion Jim Jeffries which was billed from the start as a battle between the "The Hope of the White Race vs. The Deliverer of The Negroes." The implications of Johnson's ensuing easy victory frightened many white Americans, inspired many black Americans, and upset the understood racial hierarchy of Victorian America.

One of six children, Arthur John Johnson was born in Galveston, Texas in 1878. Johnson lived a tough childhood and dropped out of school after receiving five or six years of elementary education. By the mid-1890s, Johnson earned a living by working a variety of jobs around the port of Galveston and by participating in battle royals. Organized by all-white athletic and social clubs for the entertainment of their members, battle royals featured groups of young black man fighting in a ring until only one man was left standing. These "exhibitions" had no rules, and the last fighter in the ring received a small purse of a few dollars for his efforts. A frequent winner of these matches, Johnson gradually began to be matched one-on-one against the best local fighters, both black and white, in traditional boxing matches. By the turn of the century, Johnson had beaten all challengers in eastern Texas, and he took to the road to find new competition.

Over the next few years, Johnson traveled all over the country, from Philadelphia to Chicago to San Francisco, learning the "manly art" and slowly building a national reputation. By 1903, Johnson had beaten all the best black heavyweights in the country and had claimed the mythic "Negro Heavyweight Championship." A separate title for black boxers was necessary, because the white champion, Jim Jeffries, following a tradition established in the 1890s by America's first boxing superstar, John "The Boston Strongboy" Sullivan, refused to cross the color line and box against African American fighters.

In 1905, though, with only a lackluster group of white fighters to challenge him, Jeffries tired of the boxing game and retired without having been beaten. In the ensuing scramble for the now-vacated championship, a mediocre Canadian boxer named Tommy Burns claimed the title. Over three years of mounting disinterest, Burns defended his championship for smaller and smaller purses against an increasingly weak selection of white boxers. Finally in 1908, in order to generate interest (and a larger payday), Burns agreed to fight Johnson, still a leading contender for the championship. Although Burns was the heavy favorite of both the gambling community and the crowd—which showered Johnson with racial epithets throughout the fight—he was no match for the stronger and quicker black fighter. Johnson dominated the fight for 13 rounds, punching the overmatched white boxer at will until police stopped the match and saved the bloody and battered Burns the indignity of being knocked out.

After more than five years of fruitless challenges, Johnson had finally gotten his day in the ring and had proven himself against the best white boxer in the world. While white America struggled to come to grips with the fact that an African American had been crowned the heavyweight champion, Johnson returned to Chicago to celebrate his victory. Much to the chagrin of mainstream America, however, Johnson refused to play by the prevailing racial rules of the day. Instead of being humble and respectful as African Americans were expected to act, Johnson flaunted his newfound wealth, buying fast cars and throwing lavish parties. More threatening to many Americans, though, Johnson broke the ultimate taboo and publicly romanced white women.

In response to the new champion's behavior, Jack London, writing in the New York Herald, echoed the popular sentiment and appealed to the last great white champion: "But one thing now remains. Jim Jeffries must now emerge from his alfalfa farm and remove that golden smile from Jack Johnson's face. Jeff it's up to you. The White Man must be rescued." After Johnson defeated several mediocre white challengers, Jeffries bowed to the public pressure and, though overweight and out-of-shape, agreed to come out of retirement to fight for the title. Scheduled for July 4, 1910 in Reno, Nevada, the build-up to the fight was frenzied and front page news across the country. The conventional wisdom reasoned that, although the black boxer was emotional, strong, and violent, the smart, quick, and scientific Anglo-Saxon would easily win the match. Once again, however, the expectations of white America were shattered. The old and tired ex-champion was simply no match for Johnson. Again, the black fighter controlled the action in the ring, toying with his opponent and delivering a savage beating for 15 rounds, until Jeffries' corner men stopped the fight.

White America reacted with disbelief and anger after Johnson's victory. The nearly all-white crowd filed out of the arena in silence, as social critics wondered how an African American could be so successful. More ominously, white Americans began to take out their frustrations on their helpless black neighbors. In cities around the country, "race riots" broke out in response to the fight, as gangs of whites descended violently on innocent blacks to forcefully remind them of their position in society despite Johnson's victory.

Finally, the federal government undertook to do what no white boxers had been capable of, defeating Jack Johnson. In 1912 Johnson was arrested and convicted of violating the Mann Act. Known popularly as the White Slave Traffic Act, the Mann Act made it illegal to transport women across state lines "for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose." The law was intended to target organized rings of prostitution, and, although Johnson was technically guilty for travelling around the country with several of his white girlfriends, he was one of only a handful of people ever tried under the Mann Act for anything over than participation in prostitution.

Before his sentencing, however, Johnson fled the country and remained abroad for the next seven years during which time he lost his title to a 6-6, 250-pound giant from Iowa named Jess Willard. Having lost his title and squandered his winnings, Johnson returned to the United States in 1920 and was sentenced to one year in jail. Although he would fight a few times in the 1920s, his serious boxing days were over, and Johnson drifted into the relative obscurity of an ex-champion. On June 10, 1946, outside of Raleigh, North Carolina, Johnson was killed in a car accident. Although eulogized as a good fighter, no representatives from the boxing community attended his funeral, and Johnson had become a shell of the person who 40 years earlier had terrified white Americans and upset the racial sensibilities of white America.

—Gregory Bond