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Jack Johnson Essay

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Your name Your Teacher Texas History October 19, 2010 Papa Jack Jack Johnson and the Era of White Hopes Born in Galveston on March 31,1878 to Henry and Tiny Johnson was the worlds first African American heavy weight champion of the world, Arthur (Jack) Johnson. His Father Henry and Mother Tiny were former slaves who when were free, made a living as a janitor and a laundress in Galveston Texas. There they started a family and had six children. Arthur was there third, and though they could not, they made sure all there children could both read and write. It was said that Jack Johnson was always a dreamer, a little more over the rest for at the age of twelve he stowed away in a cotton steamer to New York City to meet his hero, …show more content…

No longer could Johnson’s talent be ignored, he was in line to fight Jim Jefferies. Jefferies constantly denied Johnson a fight and in 1904 they came across each other in a bar and Jefferies told Johnson he would fight him alone in the cellar and bet 2500 dollars but Johnson said he wasn’t a cellar fighter and in 1905 Jefferies retired opening a new gate for Jack Johnson. This pissed off Johnson for he was in need of money and so he hired a manager, Sam Fitzpatrick who helped Johnson earn up to 3000 dollars a night. Johnson was now starting to be openly seen with white women, They were prostitutes and he would take them every where with him, this was done during the time when he was lashing out on the white boxers, one of these prostitutes would be with him for the next 4 years, her name was Hattie McClay. Tommy Burns was the new heavy weight champion and like Jefferies, he to was denying Johnson a shot at the title. This time Johnson was not having it. He followed Burns for two years from San Francisco to New York from Paris to London, mocking him to fight him. Burns would just state that Johnson was yellow, eventually it was said that King Henry himself called Burns a bluffer, I guess this got to Burns for in the end he agreed to fight Johnson for 30,000 dollars win, lose, or draw. This

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