[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 31 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 31

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


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 28, 2017

     Mr. King of New York (for himself, Mr. Meeks, Mr. Cohen, Mrs. 
 Napolitano, Ms. Norton, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania, and 
 Mrs. Beatty) 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 John Arthur ``Jack'' Johnson 
     should receive a posthumous pardon 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;
Whereas in 1954, Jack Johnson was inducted into the Boxing Hall of Fame; and
Whereas, on July 29, 2009, the 111th Congress agreed to Senate Concurrent 
        Resolution 29, which expressed the sense of the 111th Congress that Jack 
        Johnson should receive a posthumous pardon for his racially motivated 
        1913 conviction: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it remains the sense of Congress that Jack Johnson should receive 
a posthumous pardon--
            (1) 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
            (2) in recognition of the athletic and cultural 
        contributions of Jack Johnson to society.
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