More than 100 years later, what does the pardon mean for Jack Johnson’s legacy?

Randy Roberts Download image

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The legacy of Jack Johnson, America’s first black heavyweight boxing champion and one of the sports most polarizing figures, lives on more than a century after his racially charged conviction in 1913, said a historian and author of a book on the legend known as “Papa Jack.”

 “Even though it is 100 years too late, this pardon is important to the integrity of boxing and race relations in all sports,” said Randy Roberts, a Purdue University professor of history and author of ‘Papa Jack: Jack Johnson in the Era of White Hopes.’ “History is always evolving as we seek truth and justice, and this restores Johnson’s reputation as a boxing legend.”

Roberts said criminal charges leveled against Johnson were the government’s attempt to oust one of boxing’s most controversial figures, who drew criticism for his outspoken attitude and tendency to live life on the fringes at a time when lynchings were at all-time high.

“When Jack Johnson became heavyweight champ in 1908, the search for a ‘great white hope’ began,” Roberts said. “But not one white fighter could defeat him, so at that time, the authorities of the justice department in Chicago went against him and decided to use the Mann Act.”

The Mann Act was legislation intended to curb commercialized vice, prostitution and human trafficking, Roberts said. But authorities stretched the law to its limits when they used it as a basis for prosecuting Jackson after a trip with a prostitute across state lines, he said.

Johnson escaped the country for several years before serving a one-year sentence beginning in 1920, Roberts said.

“She was a girlfriend of his, and they took a trip to Atlantic City,” Roberts said. “The government convicted him under the Mann Act based on her testimony and sentenced him to a year in prison. That was the miscarriage of justice. The law was perverted to do what no white fighter could: Silence Jack Johnson.”

Roberts is available to speak about:

• Johnson’s life and history as a boxer.

• Federal authorities and the Mann Act.

• Racism in the early 19^th century.

Writer: Joseph Paul, 765-494-9541, paul102@purdue.edu

Sources: Randy Roberts, 765-496-2668, rroberts@purdue.edu