History Channel: I've learned about Jack Johnson, an African American professional boxer who was finally allowed to fight a white champion, Tommy Burns. See also the Ken Burns documentary on PBS, titled "Unforgivable Blackness". He's in the news again (last month), for a congressional request to Barack Obama to grant Jack Johnson a pardon for his phoney conviction.
Geography, protectionism, racial segregation... greed and fear... cognitive dissonance. What's the root story? Out of fear of competition, blacks were banned from boxing whites in the USA. When Jack Johnson found a venue (Sydney, Australia) to meet and defeat the white boxing champion, and used his winnings to celebrate with white women prostitutes, whites tried to find a white hope to shred Jackson in the ring, But the undefeated champion Jeffries, allowed to box Jackson in Las Vegas, would lose in 1910.
Should we stop White Slavery? Of course. But was it really a problem in the first place? Or was it a way to rationalize interfering in relationships which bothered us for the wrong reasons? People like Jacksons wife are described as victims, transportation is observed. It doesn't add up to a crime.
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| US Library of Congress |
Both History Channel and Wikipedia link concern about Johnson's interracial sexual partnerships, and fear of his dominance of the sport, with the passage of the Mann Act. The Mann "White Slave" Act made it illegal to transport a prostitute geographically across state lines. According to Wikipedia:
The White-Slave Traffic Act, better known as the Mann Act, is a United States law, passed June 25, 1910 (ch. 395, 36 Stat. 825; codified as amended at 18 U.S.C. §§ 2421–2424). It is named after Congressman James Robert Mann, and in its original form prohibited white slavery and the interstate transport of females for "immoral purposes". Its primary stated intent was to address prostitution, "immorality", and human trafficking; however, its ambiguous language of "immorality" allowed selective prosecutions for many years, and was used to criminalize forms of consensual sexual behavior.[1] It was later amended by Congress in 1978, and again in 1986 to apply only to transport for the purpose of prostitution or illegal sexual acts.[1]
According to the History Channel documentary, the passage of the Mann Act in 1910 coincided with Jack Johnson's peak years, and specifically with Jackson's defeat of great-white-hope champion James Jeffries. Race riots resulted. Blacks celebrated, whites tried to stop the celebrations, people got killed. It was the top news story the year the Mann Act was passed.
How to solve a problem of competition? With racial discomfort and fear-based overreaction.
How to solve a problem of competition? With racial discomfort and fear-based overreaction.
In addition to his punishing victories, however, Johnson was known for his extravagant lifestyle, and was excoriated by his white critics for his romantic relationships with white women. In 1913, Johnson was convicted (in what was widely considered a sham trial) of violating a federal law, the Mann Act of 1910, which outlawed the transportation of women across state lines for "prostitution, debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose." He was found to have traveled with his second wife, a former prostitute, across state lines before they were married.
That's right. The 2010 Mann Act law against transporting prostitutes across a state geographical border was used to arrest Jack Johnson for driving his wife, a white woman, and ex-prostitute. The courts found him guilty because he had driven her across a state border before they were married, in 1908.. Two YEARS BEFORE THE MANN ACT WAS PASSED!
What does that remind us of? How about the Basel Ban Amendment, which still hasn't been passed, which is described as some kind of a limit for transboundary export-for-repair, in today's trade journals?
What does that remind us of? How about the Basel Ban Amendment, which still hasn't been passed, which is described as some kind of a limit for transboundary export-for-repair, in today's trade journals?
Geography, protectionism, racial segregation... greed and fear... cognitive dissonance. What's the root story? Out of fear of competition, blacks were banned from boxing whites in the USA. When Jack Johnson found a venue (Sydney, Australia) to meet and defeat the white boxing champion, and used his winnings to celebrate with white women prostitutes, whites tried to find a white hope to shred Jackson in the ring, But the undefeated champion Jeffries, allowed to box Jackson in Las Vegas, would lose in 1910.Should we stop White Slavery? Of course. But was it really a problem in the first place? Or was it a way to rationalize interfering in relationships which bothered us for the wrong reasons? People like Jacksons wife are described as victims, transportation is observed. It doesn't add up to a crime.
