Unforgivable Blackness

Unforgivable Blackness by Geoffrey C. Ward. This book, on which the PBS special of the same name is based, is a biography of Jack Johnson, the first black to win the heavyweight boxing championship in the first decade of the 20th century. While there's a lot about boxing in this book, its mostly about race relations in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Johnson, born and raised in Galveston, was, in his prime, probably one of the greatest heavyweights of all time. He would have held the championship for a decade or more had he been white. Most of the major white fighters of the day refused to get in the ring with a black. Ward implies, with good justification, that in a number of cases, this refusal was based as much on fear of losing to Johnson as it was on race. Johnson ended up following the current champion all over the world until, finally, the champion agreed to face Johnson. As expected Johnson demolished him.

Johnson then had the temerity to behave like all other heavyweight champions -- arrogantly demanded large fees, spending a lot of time gambling, drinking and "sporting". In the meantime, pretty much the whole white world joined the search for the "great white hope" that would return the championship where they thought it belonged. As if it weren't unpopular enough for Johnson to be champion, he also refused to "know his place". Traveling with and eventually marrying white women made him especially hated. Eventually, he was convicted under the Mann Act (prohibiting white slavery) of transporting a woman across state lines for illicit purposes - a woman who repeatedly testified that she voluntarily traveled with him. After a prison term, his career never recovered.

Ward makes a point of giving a balanced picture of Johnson. In modern comparisons, reminds you a lot of George Forman -- talented, with a friendly outgoing personality. Unfortunately, he also had a streak of Mike Tyson in him with accusations of physical abuse of the woman who hung around with him. His downfall essentialy was caused, however, by the fact that as a rich, successful man, he refused to accept the limitations that were assumed to apply to him as a black.

Very readable book that gives a good portrayal of not only the man, but the times.