Boxing Perspective: No Presidential Pardon For Jack Johnson

In July of 2009, the US Congress approved a resolution to pardon Jack Johnson. The House passed the resolution by voice vote a month after the Senate approved it. Yet, when it came time for President Barack Obama to issue a presidential pardon that even his fiercest political rivals agreed was long overdue, he declined to do so.

The question then remains who was Jack Johnson and why is this pardon so important?

On December 26, 1908 Johnson became the first African American heavyweight champion of the world by defeating Tommy Burns at Rushcutters’s Bay in Sydney, Australia. It was a controversial fight because Johnson was constantly being denied his chance to fight for the title due to his race.

This was also a time in history when black athletes were forbidden to compete against white athletes. From that day on, Johnson became a wanted man; promoters all over the world looked for the “Great White Hope” to dethrone the newly crowned black heavyweight champion of the world.

What makes this story even more compell... Full Boxing Article here...