“The 1910 Jeffries-Johnson Fight and Its Impact” was by far my favorite reading from the text this semester, which is the main reason for my choosing of this topic. Throughout this article, I found it to be incredibly intriguing how detailed it was on the struggles that Johnson went through. Discussing the difficult experiences he had as a rising black athlete and then to end up with a white woman who, to many, could or could not have been considered a prostitute. All of the events during Johnson’s life make him such an amazing person and a very interesting athlete to learn more about. Even though the article that I am basing this paper off of is mainly in regards to the Jeffries-Johnson match of 1910, I believe that some background on the …show more content…
Johnson was rapidly growing in both fame and success within the boxing industry and taking over something that Jim Jeffries had secured in almost all areas in the years prior. As a great majority of the white population was growing agitated at Johnson’s success, it became clear that they wanted to have some sort of match or occurrence that could once again put them on top in the world of boxing and sports entirely. Jim Jeffries was already retired from the sport but that certainly did not stop the white population from pressing just one more matchup to try and regain what they had once held to be so important to their race and superiority complex in sports on a regular basis. With this being said, it was also equally as likely that many within the black population wanted this match to occur just as badly as the whites when it came down to it because if anyone was going to put them on top it was sure to be that of Jack Johnson (A Question of Racial Supremacy, …show more content…
In the public eye, the Jeffries-Johnson fight would be a determinant of how the racial path would be paved from there on out. The feud between white and black was beginning to be formed by something that was out of the hands of the majority of both of these races (A Question of Racial Supremacy, 2012). Both sides were beginning to pin their future existence on a boxing match. It is in understanding this that one is able to see just how tense the battle of the races was at this time in history. To lay something so large and make such a massive deal over a boxing match simply because it was between a white man versus a black man speaks volumes in regards to just the type of mindset that both men and women held during this point in time; it is truly incredible. Many began to refer to Jefferies as the “Great White Hope” prior to this fight as he truly was, in their eyes, the only hope that many whites had left when it came to keeping the lead in something that they clung to for so many years. Whites could not stand to be under the pressure of the fact that losing this fight for them would mean defeat. It would mean that the blacks would gain hope and pride of getting a foot in the door of society and little did they know, that is exactly what would
The author then mentions many industry concerns about blacks being enthusiastic to enter into boxing due to the triumph of Johnson, which would result in a shortage of laborers. On the other hand, Jim Nasium, a black writer counseled many young blacks to take up boxing as a serious profession. He believed that it is the boxing ring where blacks could face whites on an equal basis. There were many reports
Flashing forward a few years later past the days of Jim Crow and the fight for civil rights, several, but not all in the younger generation see the members of the black and white race as equal and find it hard to fathom that only a few years ago the atmosphere surrounding racial relations was anything but pleasant. Whites and blacks have co-existed for many hundreds of years, but as Tyson points ...
“The Best That Never Was” is a 30 for 30 documentaries ESPN produced about the life and career of Marcus Dupree. Almost every topic we have discussed in class this semester came together in this documentary. It had everything from racism, eligibility to ethical behavior by everyone involved in sport including agents. I will focus on these three issues in particular because I feel they have the most direct correlation between the film and classroom discussions. I will follow these up with my opinions of the movie and some of the key players.
They complained that the NAACP was trying to bring fear and hatred to the people by making this situation a race issue. Clearly they hadn’t seen the lynching of young Emmett till as a hate crime against blacks. On September 6th, The same day as tills funeral service, a grand jury in Mississippi met to indict Milam and Bryant for the kidnapping and murder of Emmett Till. They both plead innocent, and were held in jail until the start of the trial. The actual trial lasted only an hour an seven minutes. A white juror boasted that it wouldn’t have taken so long had they not stopped to drink coca cola. Whites were careless and insensitive to the seriousness of the case. The life of a teenage boy was dealt with like it mattered less than a worthless animal. Both, Milam and Bryant were not guilty and set free. This story went viral across the world, newspaper articles posted things like “the life of a negro isn’t worth a whistle” and other touchy headlines. Whitfield, S.
The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson Ask someone who was one of the first people to break the color barrier in sports and you're almost guaranteed that the answer is Jackie Robinson. Yet almost 40 years earlier there was a black boxer by the name of Jack Johnson, also known as John Arthur Johnson. Most would argue that he was the best heavyweight boxer of his time, having a career record of 79 wins and 8 losses, and being the first black to be the Heavyweight champion of the World. (Jack Johnson (boxer), October 9th, 2006.) Not only was this impressive, but he had to deal with racism and black oppression.
Rhoden used real life athletes that suffer from higher authority, due to the fact that black people were more physically fit than what whites were offering at the time. That made lots of white very mad. Although it ties to nutrition in a way because I feel like all six component of health was use to explain how black athletes were so superior to whites during that time, and how they’re still being looked at today. Each component was given a scenario about how their life was extraordinary circumstances in the 1930s in the Southern United States. For instance, Michael Jordan had all the physical talents basketball has ever witness, which also label his abilities and social life to own brand later on in life. But before all that, Michael Jordan, by contrast, declined to be identified with black causes, but even his fame got taken down when he finally retired from his last on-court hurrah with the Washington Wizards, which made about $30 million for the team was expecting to return to the front office; and found himself fired by the owner Abe Pollin. This discussion was busted with significance, illustrating, in turn: white people’s denial of black business ability while they continue to profit from black athletic skill; black athletes’ training in high school, college, and the pros. Rhoden would call it “(slaves) earn millions, as long as they don’t notice
"Jesse Owens." Notable Black American Men, Book II. Ed. Jessie Carney Smith. Detroit: Gale, 1998. U.S. History in Context. Web. 31 Jan. 2014.
What is truly intriguing about this book, however, is Remnick's ability to look beyond the boxing ring to what is really going on. He knows there's more to this game than meets the eye and it is this knowledge and his ability to record it that make this book important. Rem-nick lets us in on what it's like to be a boxer (read: man), and more importantly, a black boxer in the United States in the mid '60s. He tells us how the media aided and abetted the perpetuation of the stereotype as to what was a 'good' black man (i.e., why Patterson was preferred over Liston in their bout). This preference for Patterson was a good barometer of the political climate at that time in the US.
Smith , Earl. Race, Sport and the American Dream. Durham, North Carolina: Carolina Academic Press, 2007.
Miller, Patrick B. Wiggins, David K. Sport and the color line: Black athletes and Race relations in Twentieth-century America. 2004. The Journal of Southern History 70 (4) (Nov 2004): 990.
According to Jim Foglio, the main author of "Beyond the Golden Smile: Jack Johnson and Class", a history teacher and Education at the community college of Aurora and Metropolitan State university of Denver, the white race was protecting their masculinity by preventing any colored person from being the heavyweight champion. But, Jack Johnson refused to be discriminated against. He fought all the black boxers as well as the white boxers and went as far as achieving the heavyweight championship . Jack Johnson broke the color line in sports in the twentieth century. Boxing history has transcended social structure, sports culture and racial inequality. The article, “Jack: Great Moments in Black History No.VIII” is important to history and present day because it assures racial equality, hope to people of color to achieve the American dream and establish a sense of equality in the sports
In sports, there is no shortage of black success stories. Meanwhile, two black men of prominence in Odessa (who are not athletes) fell from grace. Willie Hammond Jr. (the first black city councilor and county commissioner) and Laurence Hurd (a minister and desegregation supporter) were glimmers of hope for the black community that were both snuffed out. Hammond was arrested on charges of arson conspiracy and perjury and Hurd is in prison for burglary and robbery, leaving a hole in the morale of the black community that was not repaired. These losses, combined the with negative news of black people circulated via media, made the possibility of succeeding in a white man’s world inconceivable. Yet, there is no shortage of black success stories in sports, like Michael Jordan and Bo Jackson; in every area that is not a “rich man’s sport”, black athletes dominate. To the poor children on the Southside, there is something very alluring about the “Cinderella stories” of men from poor black neighborhoods rising to prominence through sports. Based on these examples, there seem to only be two paths for a black teen to take: criminal or athlete. Many of these teens aspire to be sports stars and depend on nothing else because there is nothing else. Some may become the superstars they hope to be or they fall into ruin as Boobie Miles, Derric Evans, and Gary Edwards
Gwendolyn Brooks' "First fight. Then Fiddle." initially seems to argue for the necessity of brutal war in order to create a space for the pursuit of beautiful art. The poem is more complex, however, because it also implies both that war cannot protect art and that art should not justify war. Yet if Brooks seems, paradoxically, to argue against art within a work of art, she does so in order create an artwork that by its very recognition of art's costs would justify itself.
In an Article about sports and society, Bridget Lockyer discusses the 1950’s onwards, as being a pivotal moment for black Americans. As they were increasingly active in speaking out about the injustice of American society; the segregation of black and white; the discrimination black Americans faced in employment and housing; the disenfranchisement of black people on electoral registers and the widespread violence and prejudice they were forced to endure, (Lockyer, 2009). Before marchers, bus riding freedom riders, boycotters and other protesters began their crusade for freedom, the Jim Crow laws prevented blacks and whites from integrati...