Jack Johnson, the Black boxer whose defeat of the “Great White Hope” Jim Jeffries in 1910 was dubbed the “fight of the century, has fans more than 100 years later that are still fighting to clear his name.
Jackson who died in a 1948 car crash was convicted of “transporting a woman across state lines for immoral purposes “, a charge many agree was steeped in racism because the woman was white.
Johnson, who was known for his interracial relationships and was married three times to white women, was convicted of the charge under the Mann Act and fled the country before returning in 1920 and serving a one-year-and one-day prison sentence.
Relatives and fans of the boxing legend are seeking a posthumous presidential pardon and will gather at the nation’s capital July 4, 2010, 100 years to the day of Johnson’s defeat of Jeffries.
U.S. Senator John McCain is said to be an avid supporter of the pardon and he tells the Associated Press that he hopes President Obama will make things right and pardon the boxing champ.
“I know the president, once he looks carefully at this issue, would want to correct a grave injustice done.”
