[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 16 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. CON. RES. 16

  Expressing the sense of the Senate that the President of the United 
     States should exercise his constitutional authority to pardon 
 posthumously John Arthur ``Jack'' Johnson for the racially motivated 
conviction in 1913 that diminished the athletic, cultural, and historic 
   significance of Jack Johnson and unduly tarnished his reputation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 1, 2009

  Mr. McCain submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of the Senate that the President of the United 
     States should exercise his constitutional authority to pardon 
 posthumously John Arthur ``Jack'' Johnson for the racially motivated 
conviction in 1913 that diminished the athletic, cultural, and historic 
   significance of Jack Johnson and unduly tarnished his reputation.

Whereas John Arthur ``Jack'' Johnson was a flamboyant, defiant, and 
        controversial figure in the history of the United States who challenged 
        racial biases;
Whereas Jack Johnson was born in Galveston, Texas, in 1878 to parents who were 
        former slaves;
Whereas Jack Johnson became a professional boxer and traveled throughout the 
        United States, fighting white and African-American heavyweights;
Whereas, after being denied (on purely racial grounds) the opportunity to fight 
        2 white champions, in 1908, Jack Johnson was granted an opportunity by 
        an Australian promoter to fight the reigning white title-holder, Tommy 
        Burns;
Whereas Jack Johnson defeated Tommy Burns to become the first African-American 
        to hold the title of Heavyweight Champion of the World;
Whereas, the victory by Jack Johnson over Tommy Burns prompted a search for a 
        white boxer who could beat Jack Johnson, a recruitment effort that was 
        dubbed the search for the ``great white hope'';
Whereas, in 1910, a white former champion named Jim Jeffries left retirement to 
        fight Jack Johnson in Reno, Nevada;
Whereas Jim Jeffries lost to Jack Johnson in what was deemed the ``Battle of the 
        Century'';
Whereas the defeat of Jim Jeffries by Jack Johnson led to rioting, aggression 
        against African-Americans, and the racially-motivated murder of African-
        Americans nationwide;
Whereas the relationships of Jack Johnson with white women compounded the 
        resentment felt toward him by many whites;
Whereas, between 1901 and 1910, 754 African-Americans were lynched, some for 
        simply for being ``too familiar'' with white women;
Whereas, in 1910, Congress passed the Act of June 25, 1910 (commonly known as 
        the ``White Slave Traffic Act'' or the ``Mann Act'') (18 U.S.C. 2421 et 
        seq.), 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 whose 
        mother disapproved of their relationship and sought action from the 
        Department of Justice, claiming that Jack Johnson had abducted her 
        daughter;
Whereas Jack Johnson was arrested by Federal marshals on October 18, 1912, for 
        transporting the woman across State lines for an ``immoral purpose'' in 
        violation of the Mann Act;
Whereas the Mann Act charges against Jack Johnson were dropped when the woman 
        refused to cooperate with Federal authorities, and then married Jack 
        Johnson;
Whereas, Federal authorities persisted and summoned a white woman named Belle 
        Schreiber, who testified that Jack Johnson had transported her across 
        State lines for the purpose of ``prostitution and debauchery'';
Whereas, in 1913, Jack Johnson was convicted of violating the Mann Act and 
        sentenced to 1 year and 1 day in Federal prison;
Whereas Jack Johnson fled the United States to Canada and 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 
        authorities, and served nearly a year in the Federal penitentiary at 
        Leavenworth, Kansas;
Whereas Jack Johnson subsequently fought in boxing matches, but never regained 
        the Heavyweight Championship title;
Whereas Jack Johnson served his country during World War II by encouraging 
        citizens to buy war bonds and participating in exhibition boxing matches 
        to promote the war bond cause;
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 Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That it is the sense of the Senate 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 
        relationship with white women;
            (3) the criminal conviction of Jack Johnson unjustly ruined 
        his career and destroyed his reputation; and
            (4) the President of the United States should grant a 
        pardon to Jack Johnson posthumously--
                    (A) to expunge a racially motivated abuse of the 
                prosecutorial authority of the Federal Government from 
                the annals of criminal justice in the United States; 
                and
                    (B) in recognition of the athletic and cultural 
                contributions of Jack Johnson to society.
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