R E S O L U T I O N 1-1 WHEREAS, February is Black History Month, and it is fitting 1-2 that the Texas House of Representatives take this opportunity to 1-3 commemorate the life of Jack A. Johnson, the first African-American 1-4 world heavyweight boxing champion and a native Texan; and 1-5 WHEREAS, Born in Galveston in 1878, Mr. Johnson began 1-6 studying the "sweet science" at a young age and was soon traveling 1-7 across the country sparring with veteran boxers in New York, 1-8 Chicago, Boston, and other cities; and 1-9 WHEREAS, On December 26, 1908, Mr. Johnson defeated Tommy 1-10 Burns in Sydney, Australia, to claim the world heavyweight 1-11 championship title, a title he held until April 5, 1915, when he 1-12 was defeated by Jess Willard in Havana, Cuba; and 1-13 WHEREAS, During the course of his tremendous career, this 1-14 flawless fighter lost only six bouts in more than 100 fights; 1-15 although he was subjected to taunts and threats because of his 1-16 race, Mr. Johnson held his head high and refused to give in to the 1-17 intolerance and ignorance that were prevalent during that time; and 1-18 WHEREAS, When the United States declared war on Germany, 1-19 Mr. Johnson was in Spain, and he immediately contacted the United 1-20 States Embassy in Madrid to offer his services to his country; his 1-21 involvement in the region's military intelligence operations helped 1-22 to prevent German U-boat crews from infiltrating the Spanish coast; 1-23 and 1-24 WHEREAS, Jack Johnson's life was tragically cut short in 1946 2-1 when he died in a car crash, and the loss of this legendary figure 2-2 was felt by a great many people; one of the Lone Star State's most 2-3 famous citizens, he was immortalized in 1954 when he was 2-4 posthumously inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame, and he is 2-5 indeed deserving of legislative recognition at this time; now, 2-6 therefore, be it 2-7 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 75th Texas 2-8 Legislature hereby recognize February 24, 1997, as Jack A. Johnson 2-9 Day to commemorate the life and many accomplishments of this 2-10 renowned Texan. Gray _______________________________ Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 215 was adopted by the House on February 24, 1997, by a non-record vote. _______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House