By: Alonzo H.R. No. 3653

R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS, The triumphant story of Jack Johnson, the boxer from Texas who became the first African American heavyweight champion of the world, has long been marred by his unjust and racially motivated felony conviction in 1913; and

WHEREAS, The son of two former slaves, Jack Johnson was born in Galveston in 1878; at the age of 16, he moved to New York City, where he eventually found work as a janitor in a boxing gym and learned the sport by serving as a sparring partner; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Johnson returned to Galveston and won his first professional fight on November 1, 1898, knocking out his opponent in the second round, and by 1903, he had won at least 50 fights against both black and white men; on February 3, 1903, he won the World Colored Heavyweight Championship, and he held the title for five years; and

WHEREAS, Because James J. Jeffries, the world heavyweight champion, refused to enter the ring with a black fighter, Mr. Johnson eventually had to leave the United States for a chance at the title; for two years, he shadowed Canadian boxer Tommy Burns, by then the reigning champion, around the world, taunting him in the press; finally, on December 26, 1908, Mr. Johnson defeated Burns in a bout in Sydney, Australia, becoming the first African American heavyweight world champion; and

WHEREAS, Outraged by Mr. Johnson's triumph, many racist commentators called for his defeat by a "Great White Hope," and James Jeffries was coaxed out of retirement for what was billed as the "Fight of the Century"; on July 4, 1910, in a ring that was built especially for the match in Reno, Nevada, Jack Johnson decisively and indisputably defeated Jeffries in front of 20,000 people, and he held the title for more than six years, until April 1915; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Johnson's victory led to jubilation in the African American community and resulted in riots by angry white mobs; compounding the racial anger at Mr. Johnson's success were his marriages to and romantic relationships with several white women, at a time when black men were regularly lynched for being "too familiar" with white women; and

WHEREAS, In 1910, the U.S. Congress passed the Mann Act, also known as the "White Slave Traffic Act," which outlawed the transportation of women in interstate or foreign commerce "for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery," and on October 18, 1912, Mr. Johnson was arrested for violating the law by virtue of his relationship with a white woman, Lucille Clifton; and

WHEREAS, Even though Mr. Johnson and Ms. Clifton were married on December 4, 1912, and despite the fact that the so-called "offenses" with which he was charged took place before the passage of the Mann Act, Mr. Johnson was convicted by an all-white jury in June 1913; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Johnson and his wife fled the country and lived in exile for seven years; when he finally returned on July 20, 1920, he was arrested at the Mexican border by federal agents and sent to Leavenworth Penitentiary in Kansas, where he was imprisoned until July 9, 1921; and

WHEREAS, Later in life, Mr. Johnson fought in exhibition matches, refereed fights, and managed and trained other boxers; during World War II, he was active in the effort to encourage his fellow citizens to buy war bonds; he died in an automobile accident in 1946, and in 1954, he was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame; and

WHEREAS, Jack Johnson's legacy continues; he was the subject of a feature film, The Great White Hope, in which he was played by James Earl Jones, and the noted filmmaker Ken Burns made a two-part documentary about him, Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson; he has inspired music by such greats as Leadbelly, Miles Davis, and Wynton Marsalis, and he has been honored with a life-size bronze statue in a park named for him in his hometown of Galveston; and

WHEREAS, An enormously gifted boxer, Jack Johnson helped pave the way for other great African American athletes with his peerless technique and indomitable spirit; unbowed and unintimidated by the virulent racism of his time, he fought not only to defeat his opponents in the ring, but for the right to love whomever he chose and to live his life as a free man; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas Legislature hereby recognize the life of Jack Johnson.