Unforgivable Blackness: the Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson

[jmm08]

“Unforgivable Blackness: the Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson” a film from Ken Burns is on PBS tonight and tomorrow night (many US cities). Check the PBS schedules, it is likely to also be repeated on most PBS stations this month.

pbs.org/unforgivableblackness/

Episode one follows Jack Johnson’s remarkable journey from his humble beginnings in Galveston, Texas, as the son of former slaves, to his entry into the brutal world of professional boxing, where, in turn-of-the-century Jim Crow America, the heavyweight champion was an exclusively “white” title. Johnson lived his life out loud, wearing fancy clothes, driving fast cars and openly flaunting the conventions of the time by dating and then marrying white women. Despite the odds, Johnson was able to batter his way up through the professional ranks, and in 1908 he became the first African American to earn the title Heavyweight Champion of the World. Johnson’s victory set in motion a worldwide search for a “white hope” to restore the title to whites. On July 4, 1910, in Reno , Nevada, ex-champion Jim Jeffries, the new “Great White Hope,” came out of retirement to challenge Johnson. Johnson easily won the contest, billed as the Battle of the Century, despite a hostile crowd and a steady stream of racial epithets hurled from Jeffries’ corner. Johnson’s victory provoked race riots all around the country, but his troubles were only just beginning.

I love to watch Ken Burns’s historical documentaries. Ken Burns is an excellent storyteller. His “Lewis and Clark” had me watching every night. pbs.org/lewisandclark/

The only drawback to these PBS series is that the show is without commercial interruptions. And since I don’t want to miss even a minute, that is a challenge.

Why I mention it. Because I am concerned that American Blacks need the Catholic Church. Maybe a start is if we Catholics can learn more about Black history (such as the Tulsa Oklahoma Race War of 1921).

I’m only in RCIA, but I am concerned about it.

 

[bapcathluth]

Thanks for posting the reminder. I plan on watching it tonight since I’ve been hearing about it on NPR all week. It sounds excellent. I too, love Ken Burns. I will never forget his Civil War series. These kinds of shows are why we need public television. You will never find stuff like this on commercial TV–mainly drek.

 

[chicago]

Why I mention it. Because I am concerned that American Blacks need the Catholic Church. Maybe a start is if we Catholics can learn more about Black history (such as the Tulsa Oklahoma Race War of 1921).

This need and value of evangelization and outreach was keenly recognized by some around the turn of the last century (when there were actually much better opportunities). Some did heed the call (such as the Society of the Divine Word). However, it mostly got overlooked and ignored, if racist factors were not sometimes involved in keeping it from happening.

 

[bapcathluth]

I watched the first installment last night, and thought it was excellent. Sadly, Jack London, was a product of his times. The racial hatred was so intense that it is amazing that Jack Johnson rose above it all, and had such a strong sense of self.

I thought the Los Angeles Times editorial that ran after Johnson defeated the “Great White Hope” was especially depressing. It was Los Angeles, not Montgomery, Alabama, but the editorial said something like: To the black folks: Don’t get your nose in the air. You are still in the same social position you have always been in.

 

[Michael_C]

I highly recommend a TIVO or I think they’re called DVRs. I have a TIVO and watching tv has never been the same. Now, I can’t live without one.