The Annointed Great White Hope

Besides marking the 234th birthday of the Republic, today also marks the 100th anniversary of the thrashing of former heavyweight champion Jim Jeffries, who was coaxed out of retirement to restore the honor of the white race by defeating the uppity and arrogant Jack Johnson. It was Jeffries who was first anointed with the rather dubious sobriquet "The Great White Hope." As the fight unfolded, it became clear that Mr. Jeffries was neither great nor hopeful.

Happy Anniversary Jack Johnson

There is an interesting New York Times editorial on the occasion of the 4th of July also being the 99th anniversary of Jack Johnson's stunning knockout of the "Great White Hope" Jim Jeffries in Reno, Nevada in 1908. The editorial notes:

This landmark moment in the struggle up from slavery still has not been set right in history. Jack Johnson fearlessly personified a kind of uncivil disobedience — an outspoken contumely toward the nation’s racist taboos. He had a gift for taunting hypocrites from outside the ring and inside, where shouted racist slurs only galvanized his boxing arts. His was an amazing form of resistance when Jim Crow lynchings and pro-white sports reporting were standard Americana.

Johnson paid the price three years later when vindictive authorities twisted the Mann Act’s strictures against prostitution to convict him before an all-white jury for having dared to travel with a white woman across state lines. He did a year in prison.

Interestingly enough, Senator John McCain, who could not find it within himself to support the Martin Luther King, Jr. federal holiday, is one of the chief sponsors of legislation to pardon Johnson for his misdeeds. Don't want to appear ungrateful but there is a helluva difference between supporting legislation in recognition of MLK and pardoning a former heavyweight champion that the average American never heard of.

Unforgivable Blackness

Sen. John McCain has introduced legislation to posthumously pardon Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion, for violation of the Mann Act, i.e., the transportation of white women across state lines for immoral purposes.

Jack Johnson

Jack Johnson was the first black heavyweight champion at a time when being black was sufficient to get you killed as evidenced by the lynchings which were in vogue in America in the early 1900s. His impact continues to resonate into the 21st century as evidenced by Trevor Von Eeden's serialized comic strip:

The legend of Jack Johnson, who became the first black heavyweight champion 100 years ago Friday, keeps growing. His story was already inspiration for a stage play and a feature film. Now he has inspired an online comic-book biography, “The Original Johnson.”

The comic, which is being serialized in weekly installments at www.comicmix.com, is written and illustrated by Trevor Von Eeden, and is unflinching in its depiction of racism in America, the brutality of the boxing ring and the tragedies and triumphs of Johnson’s life, including his sexual conquests. New chapters are scheduled to be posted every Wednesday.