Podcast: Jack Johnson: Breaking Barriers and Defying Society in and out of the Boxing Ring

Muhammad Ali cited Johnson as a significant influence on his own career and activism.

Muhammad Ali "Jack Johnson was a big inspiration because of what he did out of the ring.
When Jack Johnson won a fight, they had riots all over of America. It was so serious. And Jack Johnson, he's bad. He had to be a bad, bad black man. He was by himself. Jack Johnson. It was so long ago. People still had log cabins in this country. And they rode horses and wagons and stagecoaches to fight. Back in 1909, man. Man, you know, Jack Johnson was the greatest. He had to be the greatest of all. He was bad when you think about it. I know I'm bad, but he was crazy."

When Jack Johnson stepped into the ring, he wasn't just fighting an opponent. He was challenging the entire social order of his time. Jack Johnson was a revolutionary boxer whose legacy and influence still reverberate in the world of sports today. Born to formerly enslaved parents in Galveston on March 31st, 1878.

Johnson rose to fame as the first African American world heavyweight boxing champion with a staggering 105 victories and only 7 losses over the course of his career. He faced racism and discrimination inside and outside of the ring. His determination and skill made him one of the most successful boxers in history.

Born Arthur John Johnson, he grew up on Galveston's East End, in a mixed-race neighborhood at the time. Galveston, in the late 1800s, was a major port city, bustling with people from all walks of life. This environment gave Johnson a unique upbringing compared to the deeply segregated mainland. Johnson stated about his upbringing in Galveston, "As I grew up, the white boys were my friends and my pals. I ate with them, played with them, and slept at their homes. Their mothers gave me cookies. And I ate at their tables. No one ever taught me that white men were superior to me."

Johnson first started boxing as an amateur, participating in fights for money on the docks of Galveston, where he quickly gained a reputation for being an unstoppable fighter. As he got older, He moved around the country looking for work but eventually returned to Galveston, where he took a job as a janitor at a gym owned by German-born heavyweight fighter Herman Bernau. Herman allowed Johnson to train at the gym when the gym was closed. Johnson saved up to purchase boxing gloves and sparred whenever he could, without a doubt in his mind that he would be a professional fighter.

Johnson made his professional boxing debut in Galveston in 1898. At the turn of the century, boxing was both a sport and a spectacle, often held in underground arenas due to legality issues. At the time, black fighters were barred from competing for the most prestigious titles, forcing them to carve their own path in the sport of boxing.

Prizefighting was illegal in Texas, and after a boxing match in 1901 against Joe Choynsky, both Johnson and Choynsky were arrested after Johnson was knocked out by the more experienced heavyweight in the third round of their fight in Galveston. Neither fighter could afford the $5,000 bail, so in order to be released, they agreed to spar in the jail cell for an audience, and law enforcement would charge admission.

After 23 days, their bail was reduced, and they were released without being indicted. Johnson credited Choynsky for teaching him the skills needed to be successful in boxing. By 1903, Johnson had won at least 50 fights against white and black contenders. Johnson's rise to fame began with a 20-round match against Denver Ed Martin for the World Colored Heavyweight Championship. Johnson won the title, and his reputation as a showman and trash-talking his opponents began to grow. Johnson was dubbed the Galveston Giant, standing at 6'1 and weighing in at just 200 pounds. And in the early 1900s, 200 pounds was huge. Johnson was also highly ambitious. Publicly calling out potential opponents in the media, he set his sights high. And then, Johnson set his sights on world heavyweight champion Tommy Burns. Many white boxing champions refused to fight Johnson. But Johnson was determined, at his own expense. Johnson followed Burns around the world. Buying a ringside seat so Burns could hear him yell insults and taunting remarks during the fights.

Eventually, his baiting worked, and Burns agreed to fight in December 1908 in Sydney,

Australia. The match made history as the first heavyweight championship bout with an African American. Burns was handily defeated in the 14th round, making Jack Johnson the first African American world heavyweight champion.

His victory sent shockwaves across America and the world. With newspapers both celebrating and condemning the outcome, Johnson had shattered a racial barrier that many believed was impenetrable. For defeating Tommy Burns, Johnson was paid $5,000. When adjusted for inflation, that comes out to about $170,000 today. That's certainly nothing to sneeze at. But listen to this. Despite losing, Burns was paid $30,000, which would be over a million dollars today.

In order to keep the title of World Heavyweight Champion, Johnson had to defend it. On July 4th, 1910, Johnson faced James J. Jeffries in what had been dubbed the Fight of the Century. Many white boxing fans saw Jeffries as the only man capable of "restoring order" by reclaiming the title. Johnson, on the other hand, was determined to prove that no color barrier could define greatness in the ring.

The match, dubbed the Fight of the Century, was held in Reno, Nevada. Newspapers from the time reported that between 18,000 and 20,000 people attended the fight. "It was the biggest crowd that ever saw a prize fight." One newspaper article reads, Around noon, "the weird throngs started to the arena. And the crowd were the pugilists. The sports who followed the pugilists and bet on them. The men who write of the goings of the fighters. More writers than reported a fight before. Women and men, thieves and gamblers, beggars and detectives, and all the casual riff-raff that follows big sporting events. They were burned by one fever, sped by one desire, made one by a common goal."

For the fight of the century, newspapers reported that it was barely a fight at all. The Galveston Giant, for lack of a better word, destroyed Jeffries for 15 rounds, and the crowd was actually kind of disappointed in the show. The fight was highly publicized. Silencing critics and cementing Jack Johnson's international fame. Johnson was so successful and so well-known to the public that his personal life was also in the spotlight. It should be remembered that racial tensions were high at this time, and Johnson's high profile as a black man was contentious.

Johnson married three times in his life, and all three women were white. In 1913, he was arrested and convicted for violating the Man Act, which made it illegal to transport women across state lines for "immoral purposes." Critics argued that the charge was racially motivated and that it wouldn't have happened if his love interest was a black woman. Johnson was fined a thousand dollars and sentenced to a year and a day in prison. But Johnson skipped bail and left the country instead. He toured Europe, Mexico, and Canada for the next seven years. He held onto the title of World Heavyweight Champion until 1915, when he lost to Jess Willard in a fight in Havana, Cuba.

During World War I, British troops in the trenches borrowed his famous name to describe the powerful black-colored German 150mm heavy artillery shells that exploded with devastating force. These British troops were literally calling these explosive artillery shells Jack Johnson's. Like Johnson's punches, they exploded with devastating force.

Johnson finally returned to the U. S. in 1920, where he was quickly arrested and taken to Leavenworth Prison. After serving his sentence, He returned to the sport of boxing, but his career was never the same. Johnson also spent many years working in the sport as a trainer, referee, and occasionally manager.

On June 10th, 1946, when he was 68 years old, Jack Johnson was killed in a car accident near Riley, North Carolina. In 1971, Johnson was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. Forty years later, the people of Galveston found another way to honor Johnson and his legacy. In 2012, Galveston's Old Central Cultural Center dedicated Jack Johnson Community Park at

2601 Avenue M. The park contains a historical marker and a life-size bronze statue of the

Galveston Giant by artist Adrian Isom. In addition, 41st Street in Galveston is also named Jack Johnson Boulevard. And in 2018, President Donald Trump posthumously pardoned Johnson from his 1913 conviction.

As a boxer, Johnson was a strategic and defensive genius. Johnson's influence on other boxers and athletes cannot be overstated. More than a champion, Johnson was a cultural icon. One of the first black athletes to live openly on his own terms. His defiance in the face of racial hostility set the stage for figures like Muhammad Ali. Muhammad Ali cited Johnson as a significant influence on his own career and activism.

Johnson's legacy of fighting, in and out of the ring, continues to inspire and influence boxers and athletes today. During his fighting career, Jack Johnson was considered to be the most famous and most notorious African American on Earth. But it's also important to note that Johnson was more than just an athlete. He was a well-rounded American. He traveled the world extensively. Outside the ring, Johnson savored every minute of his glory days.

Today, his legacy is more than just a story from the past. It's a testament to the resilience, ambition, and unbreakable spirit of a true champion.