Early 20th century boxer Jack Johnson was one of the few black men in history that created white anxiety about black equality. He was unafraid, his actions in and out of the ring were bold, and with the black public in his corner he achieved his greatest accomplishment. He challenged racial views about equality when he beat a white boxer and became the first black international heavyweight-boxing champion.
Jack Johnson Wins the World Heavyweight Title
With only a fifth grade education, a young Galveston, Texas born John Arthur (Jack) Johnson set out on his own. He survived by working as a painter, a baker, and a dockworker. Shortly thereafter, the frail Johnson began working as a janitor at a gymnasium. Jack quickly became intrigued with boxing. He began training, but early on he suffered from malnutrition and fatigue. Nevertheless, in 1897, he fought his first fight.All of Johnson’s hard work to become a heavyweight champion paid off when in 1903 he became the unofficial black heavyweight champion after beating “Denver Ed” Martin. Determined to break down the U.S. color barrier that prohibited him from fighting the white heavyweights, Johnson earned an international reputation that eventually led to a match with Australian boxer Tommy Burns. On December 26, 1908, to the world’s amazement, Johnson won the world heavyweight title.
The Search for the “Great White Hope”
The win challenged commonly held beliefs about equality. Boxing was a sport that required physical strength and wit. Johnson showed that he had both. Furthermore, a potential win brought fear that blacks would interpret such a victory as their equality with whites. After Johnson beat Martin, white fears came true. From thereafter, whites searched for the “Great White Hope,” a white fighter who could win the heavyweight championship title back.Over the next two years, hope was placed on five white challengers who were all defeated by Johnson. The greatest anticipation for a capable boxer was placed on the retired heavyweight champion, Jim Jeffries. After succumbing to pressure from the public, Jeffries agreed to the match. The July 4, 1910 match was dubbed “The Fight of the Century.” To the dismay of whites, Johnson beat Jeffries.
Johnson’s Controversial Interracial Marriages
Just as Johnson was unafraid in the ring, his behavior outside of the ring was also bold. Not disturbed by the potential reaction of the public, Johnson married a high-society white woman named Etta Terry Duryea in 1911. As expected, whites were unhappy with the marriage. Married to a playboy and faced with intense racism, Duryea committed suicide in 1912.Unfazed by public reaction to his first marriage, Johnson married his white bookkeeper, Lucille Cameron in 1912. In 1913, Johnson was arrested and convicted under the Mann Act, which prohibited the transportation of a woman across state borders for immoral purposes by a man. Before he was sentenced, Johnson left the United States and went to France. He returned to boxing in 1915, when he fought and lost his heavyweight title to white boxer, Jess Willard in Havana, Cuba.
In 1920, Johnson returned to the United States and served a year in prison. Shortly after getting out of prison, he divorced his wife in 1923 and married a white woman named Irene Pineau. Johnson spent the remaining years of his life writing, engaged in business endeavors, and fought at boxing exhibitions. On June 10, 1946, he died in an automobile accident.
Johnson’s victory of becoming the first black world heavyweight champion was more than a personal win. It challenged commonly held views of equality. Johnson, a prideful man, was the perfect person for the job. He had strength and intelligence, and did not cower over public reaction to his victories in the ring or his controversial marriages.
