I'm watching a PBS special called "Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson," about black World Heavywieght Champion boxer Jack Johnson in the early 1900's. Right now, it's at the point where Johnson is beating the crud out of Jeffries, a white suppremisist charged with "bringing honor back to white society."
rolleyes I've seen this special before while laying in bed one night (I have a TV in my bedroom). I was channel surfing when I came upon this special.
The thing that kept me watching was not the fact it was about boxing. I'm not that big a fan of sports. Nor do I watch it because it is Black History Month now, though this history is important to keep with us. And it's not because it's a film by Ken Burns.
Something about Johnson's spirit draws the reader in. He was no choir boy, to be sure. Several women attested to being "Mrs. Jack Johnson," not to mention all his mistresses and whores. He was arrogant, too. Caught speeding down a major street, the cop demanded he pay a ticket on the spot. Johnson handed him a $100. The cop stammers that he can't break $100. "That's okay," says Johnson, "I plan on coming back through just as I have left." He seemed to be physically unstoppable; once flipping one of his custom made sports cars...and walking away without a scratch.
What I like about Johnson is that he wasn't afraid of what his enemies might be plotting or thinking of him. He lived life to the fullest, far from being modest. All night parties, complicated love lives, theatrical appearances, arrests, and wild spending on custom cars and fine suits. All this taking place not in 2007, but 1911
exclaim Long before any rapper was living life large, Johnson had succeeded in snatching the Heavywiehgt Championship away from white domination. He was a fighter of both racism and despair. No matter how many times those of both white and middle-class black society tried to knock him down, he stayed on his feet and kept swinging. He dated white women (usually prostitutes) exclusively (middle-class, "respectable" black women having kept their distance from such a ruffian). The mother of one of his white lovers accused him "hypnotizing" the girl. She tried to have her daughter locked up in an insane asylum.
He was proud, strong, and loved by many, before he became hated by many more. Eventually even the black men looking to improve the state of black society turned on him for his immoraltiy.
Wow I've written a lot
sweatdrop exclaim i'm going to sit back now and watch the rest of this speciial. Here's a link to the PBs site for more info:
Jack Johnson
