A Capitol Hill Battle to Pardon Jack Johnson

April 7, 2005

WASHINGTON -- As the first black heavyweight champion, Jack Johnson's triumphs inside the ring despite intense racial animosities outside are a source of pride for Bronx-born boxer Iran "The Blade" Barkley.

Barkley has an affinity for Johnson, he said, as a pioneer not only in boxing but also for black people. And as a black boxer, Barkley said yesterday, he felt it his duty to join the fight seeking a presidential pardon for Johnson.

"It's a long time coming, and it's long overdue," Barkley said at a news conference on Capitol Hill yesterday supporting legislation requesting that President George W. Bush pardon Johnson's 1913 conviction for violating the Mann Act, which forbade taking women across state lines for "immoral purposes."

"It means a lot for us fighters and especially us black fighters," Barkley said of the bill sponsored by Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford) and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

The subject of a two-part series released in January by documentary filmmaker Ken Burns, Johnson drew the ire of white fight fans in 1908 when he became the first black boxing champ, a victory credited for sparking racially motivated murders nationwide. He lived a flamboyant lifestyle, notorious for his flashy clothes, fast cars and penchant for interracial dating.

He was convicted under the Mann Act of transporting a woman—who was white—across state lines for immoral purposes. Johnson ultimately served just over a year in prison but not before spending several years on the lam overseas after his conviction.

"This is an injustice that has to be corrected," said King, a boxing enthusiast who spars weekly with a trainer. "He was a victim of the times, he was outspoken and marched to his own drummer and the American public could not handle that. He suffered tremendous indignities at the hands of his own country for being who he wanted to be."

King's bill has won praise from a variety of quarters including Reps. Charles Rangel (D-Harlem) and Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) to renowned boxing referee Richard Steele to Teamsters General President Jim Hoffa.

Hoffa, who is working with the Joint Association of Boxers to unionize fighters, said Johnson was dealt a "great racial inequality" that needs to be corrected.

"We have a chance to right that wrong," Hoffa said. "You can't change history but you can change the record to clear the name of Jack Johnson."

King and McCain also have legislation pending that would create a national boxing commission and a host of uniform standards concerning safety, contracts and promotion of bouts.
 

The article originally appeared in Newsday on April 7, 2005, and was written by J. Jioni Palmer.
 

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