Black History for Beginners: The Myth of The Dangerous Black Man, Jack Johnson, and The Great White Hope by Davis D. & Shabazz N

Author:Davis, D. & Shabazz, N. [Davis, D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781648586408
Publisher: Spoken History Education and Publishing
Published: 2020-09-16T21:00:00+00:00

“At the outset of the Johnson-Cameron controversy, many blacks were as antagonistic toward the champion as were whites. More than anything else, it was Johnson’s continued open preference for white women that aroused their anger. Strangely enough, much of the anti-Johnson rhetoric was similar to that of whites… ‘What a pity,’ wrote the Newport News (Virginia) Star, ‘that Johnson was ever successful in obtaining the great amount of money which came to him, if it is to be put to no better use than being spent in desire to parade with a white woman as his wife’ (Gilmore, 1973).”

The Philadelphia Tribune’s headline put his situation more sardonically: “Jack Johnson, dangerously ill, victim of white fever (Jack Johnson, dangerously ill, victim of white fever, 1912).” Johnson’s trial began on May 7, 1913. During court, the prosecution attempted to put Johnson’s sexual proclivities on display in order to sway the jury. Whether it was to his detriment or to his benefit, he did not feign modesty, nor did he offer any sort of remorse. “On the stand Johnson showed the most prized quality of the Bad Nigger—the ability to stand up to and outsmart white authority. In fact, for years any black who so challenged authority was dubbed ‘Jack Johnson.’ On the stand Johnson refused to be humiliated. He refused to lower his eyes and look humble. His gestures were those not of a contrite man who sought atonement but of one who believed he had done nothing wrong (Roberts, 1983).”

Did Schreiber and he sometimes travel together? Yes. Did he know she was a prostitute? Yes. Did he ever pay for sex? No, he didn’t have to: He was Jack Johnson! Had he ever given Schreiber any money? Yes, but not for sex. They were friends. He had once rented a flat and furniture for her sister and mother. If Schreiber called periodically and needed some financial help, he sent it. In fact, he had also once wired her money because Schreiber had gotten kicked out of the high-end brothel where she had worked due to her affiliation with him (yes, even prostitution had a color-line) and needed some help restarting.

It took five days of testimony to an all-white, all-male jury of 12 before the trial was over. When Johnson’s guilty verdict was announced, his omnipresent smile slowly disappeared from his face. Sentencing took place on June 4, 1913. He faced a maximum punishment of five years, a $10,000 fine, or a combination of both. Despite the public and the prosecution wanting to make an example of him, Johnson was given a sentence of only one year and one day. Judge George Carpenter, who handed down the punishment, did not fully believe in the constitutionality of the Mann Act, and there is some evidence to suggest he did not fully believe Johnson was guilty. Nevertheless, the prosecution and, by extension, the American public, now had its pound of flesh. Johnson couldn’t be beat in the ring, but the power structure had finally beaten him outside of it in court.

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