LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION recognizing and commending U.S. Representatives
Peter T. King of Long Island, New York, and Charles B. Rangel of Harlem,
New York, and U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona for their resolution
expressing the sense of Congress that President Barack H. Obama should
grant a posthumous pardon to John Arthur "Jack" Johnson

WHEREAS, John Arthur "Jack" Johnson was a flamboyant, courageous, self-
taught, widely read and controversial figure in American history who
defied racial biases; and
WHEREAS, Jack Johnson was born in 1878 to parents who were former
slaves, but became the world's first African-American heavy weight
boxing champion; and
WHEREAS, Jack Johnson's becoming the first African-American to hold
the title of world heavyweight champion, became in the process an inspi-
ration to people of color everywhere, demonstrating the possibility to
overcome prejudice, to triumph over adversity; and
WHEREAS, Jack Johnson's victory prompted the search for a White boxer
who could defeat him, a recruitment effort dubbed the search for the
"Great White Hope"; and
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; and
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; and
WHEREAS, The resentment felt toward Jack Johnson by many Whites was
compounded by his relationships with White women; and
WHEREAS, Between 1901 and 1910, 754 African-Americans were lynched,
some simply based on the hysterical obsession of some Whites with mytho-
logized Black sexuality; and
WHEREAS, Federal authorities unrelentingly pursued an unrepentant Jack
Johnson, ultimately finding Belle Schreiber, a White woman, to testify
that Johnson had transported her across State lines for the purposes of
"prostitution and debauchery"; and
WHEREAS, In 1913, Jack Johnson was convicted of violating the Mann Act
and was sentenced to one year and one day in Federal prison, surrender-
ing to the United States authorities in July of 1920 and serving nearly
one year in the United States Penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas; and
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; and
WHEREAS, Jack Johnson's example motivated similar great success from
Harlem heroes like exemplary boxers Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson and
Cassius Clay, later known as Muhammad Ali, men whose successes again
stirred hope among Blacks and resentment and government directed perse-
cution by Whites; and
WHEREAS, It is worthy to acknowledge how John Arthur "Jack" Johnson
paved the way for African-American athletes to participate and succeed
in racially integrated professional sports in the United States, yet he
was wronged by a racially motivated conviction prompted by his success
in the boxing ring and his lack of racial bias; the criminal conviction
of Jack Johnson unjustly ruined his career and destroyed his reputation
even as the related brilliant careers of others who emulated his unbowed
dignity and exceptional accomplishment in the boxing arena were also
unjustly harassed; and

WHEREAS, U.S. Senator John McCain and U.S. Representative Peter King
have condemned this unwarranted act and have taken a lead role in urging
President Barack Obama to grant a posthumous pardon to Jack Johnson, to
expunge from the annals of American criminal justice a racially engen-
dered abuse of the law; and
WHEREAS, In August of 2009, Senator John McCain rallied members of
Congress to support a posthumous pardon for Jack Johnson; he sent a
letter to President Obama urging him to consider the pardon, to which he
claims he got no response; and
WHEREAS, Another supporter, Representative Charles B. Rangel, of
Harlem, New York, had said he would talk to President Barack Obama's new
chief of staff, William Daley, and Attorney General Eric Holder about
the cause; in addition, one of Jack Johnson's great-great nieces, Linda
Haywood of Chicago, Illinois, is writing to President Obama about the
case; and
WHEREAS, Linda Haywood has said "I think having a letter from a family
member will help put a face on our plea...Many people didn't realize he
had nieces and nephews. For years, the rest of my family was so ashamed,
no one ever spoke of him because of the stigma attached to him being in
prison"; and
WHEREAS, In a letter to Representative King and Senator McCain at the
end of 2009, the Justice Department attorney who advises on pardons
argued that resources for such requests are best used for those still
alive "who can truly benefit" from them; that notwithstanding, he noted,
President Obama certainly could pardon whomever he wishes; and
WHEREAS, The fact that Jack Johnson wouldn't personally benefit from
the pardon is beside the point, argued another one of his great-great
nieces, Constance Hines of Chicago; "This is about righting a wrong,"
she said; and
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to support the
posthumous pardon to John Arthur "Jack" Johnson for his racially moti-
vated conviction in 1913, which demeaned and trivialized his heroic,
athletic, cultural, and historic significance, tarnishing his reputa-
tion; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
recognize the laudable efforts of New York Representatives Peter T. King
and Charles B. Rangel, and U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona; and be
it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to New York Representatives Peter T. King and Charles B.
Rangel, and U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona.