[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 91 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 91

  Expressing the sense of Congress that the President should grant a 
posthumous pardon to John Arthur ``Jack'' Johnson for the 1913 racially 
    motivated conviction of Johnson, which diminished his athletic, 
   cultural, and historic significance, and tarnished his reputation.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 1, 2009

    Mr. King of New York (for himself and Mr. Jackson of Illinois) 
 submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to 
                     the Committee on the Judiciary

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                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of Congress that the President should grant a 
posthumous pardon to John Arthur ``Jack'' Johnson for the 1913 racially 
    motivated conviction of Johnson, which diminished his athletic, 
   cultural, and historic significance, and tarnished his reputation.

Whereas John Arthur ``Jack'' Johnson was a flamboyant, defiant, and 
        controversial figure in American history who challenged racial biases;
Whereas Jack Johnson was born in Galveston, Texas, in 1878, to parents who were 
        former slaves;
Whereas Jack Johnson was a professional boxer who traveled throughout the United 
        States and the world, fighting both Black and White heavyweight boxers;
Whereas in 1908 after being denied the opportunity to fight two White boxing 
        champions on purely racial grounds, Jack Johnson was granted an 
        opportunity by an Australian promoter to fight Tommy Burns, the reigning 
        world heavyweight champion;
Whereas Jack Johnson defeated Burns to become the first African-American to hold 
        the title of world heavyweight champion;
Whereas the victory of Jack Johnson over Burns prompted the search for a White 
        boxer who could beat him, a recruitment effort dubbed the search for the 
        ``Great White Hope'';
Whereas in Reno, Nevada, in 1910, in what was referred to by many as the 
        ``Battle of the Century'', a White former heavyweight champion named 
        James ``Jim'' Jeffries came back from retirement to fight, and lose to, 
        Jack Johnson;
Whereas the defeat of Jeffries by Jack Johnson sparked rioting and aggression 
        toward African-Americans and led to racially motivated murders of 
        African-Americans nationwide;
Whereas the resentment felt toward Jack Johnson by many Whites was compounded by 
        his relationships with White women;
Whereas, between 1901 and 1910, 754 African-Americans were lynched, some simply 
        for being ``too familiar'' with White women;
Whereas in 1910 Congress passed the White-slave traffic Act (commonly known as 
        the ``Mann Act''), which outlawed the transportation of women in 
        interstate or foreign commerce ``for the purpose of prostitution or 
        debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose'';
Whereas, in October 1912, Jack Johnson became involved with a White woman, 
        Lucille Cameron, whose mother disapproved of the relationship, claimed 
        that Johnson had abducted her daughter, and sought action from the 
        Department of Justice;
Whereas Jack Johnson was arrested by United States marshals on October 18, 1912, 
        for transporting Lucille Cameron across State lines for an ``immoral 
        purpose'' in violation of the Mann Act, but Cameron refused to cooperate 
        with authorities, the charges were dropped, and Cameron later married 
        the champion;
Whereas Federal authorities continued to pursue Jack Johnson and summoned Belle 
        Schreiber, a White woman, to testify that Johnson had transported her 
        across State lines for the purposes of ``prostitution and debauchery'';
Whereas in 1913 Jack Johnson was convicted of violating the Mann Act and was 
        sentenced to 1 year and 1 day in Federal prison, but fled the country to 
        Canada and then to various European and South American countries;
Whereas Jack Johnson lost the heavyweight championship title to Jess Willard in 
        Cuba in 1915;
Whereas Jack Johnson returned to the United States in July 1920, surrendered to 
        the authorities, and served nearly 1 year in the United States 
        Penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas;
Whereas Jack Johnson fought boxing matches after his release from prison, but 
        never regained the heavyweight championship title;
Whereas Jack Johnson supported this Nation during World War II by encouraging 
        citizens to buy war bonds and by participating in exhibition boxing 
        matches to promote the sale of war bonds;
Whereas Jack Johnson died in an automobile accident in 1946; and
Whereas in 1954 Jack Johnson was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) John Arthur ``Jack'' Johnson paved the way for African-
        American athletes to participate and succeed in racially 
        integrated professional sports in the United States;
            (2) Jack Johnson was wronged by a racially motivated 
        conviction prompted by his success in the boxing ring and his 
        relationships with White women;
            (3) the criminal conviction of Jack Johnson unjustly ruined 
        his career and destroyed his reputation; and
            (4) the President should grant a posthumous pardon to Jack 
        Johnson to expunge from the annals of American criminal justice 
        a racially motivated abuse of the prosecutorial authority of 
        the Federal Government, and to recognize Jack Johnson's 
        athletic and cultural contributions to society.
                                 <all>