In what Ways did Jack Johnson Live an Atypical Life for a Person of Color in the Early 20th Century - Book Report/Review Example

In what Ways did Jack Johnson Live an Atypical Life for a Person of Color in the Early 20th Century? Introduction: Jack Johnson was a fine all-rounder, who excelled in more than one area. Fame hotly pursued him throughout his life. His heavyweight championship title was for a fairly long duration from 1908 to 1915. He was the first African American pop culture icon. Photographers chased him and print media extensively highlighted his achievements and the coverage that he received surpassed the top celebrity of the white race. 20th century was not an easy-going period for the black race. They were in the news on the negative side, for the crimes that they did not commit or when they were lynched (which was a demonic system of punishment, whether or not black men actually committed the crime). Johnson was exceptional. Black eulogized him and white papers gave front page coverage to contribute to his national fame. A totally self-made individual, Johnson studied in the college of self-education, where his mind was his principal and his tremendous initiative, the professors and he possessed the strong will to grow through the challenging circumstances, like racial bias, professional rivalry, and sexual belligerence. Theresa Runstedtler writes, “His boyhood experiences had raised his expectations for racial equality”. (13)As Johnson’s career surged ahead, he became the victim of jealousy as the volume of his coverage in the press was more than all the famous black celebrities in any segment, put together. He was a hundred percent self-made man. He lived his life like a true pop culture artist would live. His sex life was questioned and subjected to public scrutiny. He was in the center stage of scandals, gossip mills, many people labelled him as the public menace and threat to the society. He was misunderstood, feared and adored and to many people he was their hero. Everything was right for Johnson, including time! At the turn of the 20th century, sports activities dominated the American national scene. It was shaping as one of the important cultural traits of the American people. American popular culture had arrived on the scene. Recorded music flooded the music market. Movie continued to control the scene of entertainment. Johnson, on the other hand, was readying to fight for the world boxing title. Films and sports activities were big money-spinning ventures. The popularity of boxing was without parallel in the sports history of America and Johnson was able to take full advantage of the situation. In addition, Johnson was passionate about the automobiles. Technology intervened favorably and its interaction gave shot in the arm to the popular culture. In what ways did he also live a life typical of the experiences of people of color around the world? Boxing was a great sports business, though its connection to gambling was its dark side. It began as a bare-hand fight sport. By the time Johnson was aspiring to become the world champion, rules were amended and fighters used gloves and rounds of fights were timed to be three minutes with the rest of one minute between the rounds. Racism within the context of professional boxing was very much there, but with the awesome popularity of Johnson, many white women were part of his sex life. Thus, he challenged racism in his own style and he had learned to live putting up with character assassination. The votaries of racism were out to subdue him, in areas other than sports and singing. They took recourse to the jargon of legal provisions. He was convicted on May 14, 1913, by an all-white jury under the Mann Act. Besides fine, he was sentenced to 366 days in a prison. Mann Act was specially created to subdue the blacks, under the pretext of offering to challenge prostitution amongst blacks. The legal provisions took into the fold even the consensual sexual activity. The Act gave rise to political blackmail and bullying. Johnson was charged accordingly for his sexual misadventures and interracial romantic encounters. The white man had his revenge against Johnson through the legal jargon but he soon jumped bail. One month later, Johnson who was by then the international figure on account of his sterling achievements in the areas of sports and music, was a fugitive on the run. In his sojourn for seven years he visited England, Russia, France, Argentina, Spain, Barbados, Mexico and Cuba for shelter in search of a racial-free zone on this Planet Earth. The author writes “With his epic story of success in the face of discrimination, Johnson became a folk hero to men of color in the region, inspiring them to take up the sport on their own terms” (p. 198). Those were the testing years for him, from unchallengeable popularity and he came face to face to confront reality of racial prejudice, the Jim Crow truth in the global variety. Apolitical figure like Johnson had to suffer at the altar of political, racist dominated policies of the white man. Race and sports gave him individual fame but intense psychological suffering challenged him. The white race used the weapon of character assassination to humble him. Johnson is the ideal raw material for the subject of international racism. The author writes, “The masculine aesthetics and international travels of African American boxers had opened up a space for the black radical imagination of the interwar years” (236). His battles, escapades and problems go in tandem with the problems that the black race faced as a whole. A man with such tremendous reputation and money power had to suffer untold miseries on account his race. Then what about the poor black people who have no means to defend against injustices meted out to them by the white section of the society and the administrators of legal provisions? In the transnational study of racism Johnson figures prominently. The study about him would be the study of many of the problematic issues of his time related to race, gender, religion, social class and body culture, sports and music and other colonial subjects. In relation to the above, how successful was he in living a life of his own making?" His life was a matchless success for any sportsperson amongst both the races but his problems multiplied with the increase in his popularity and commercial value. He had to face the jealous dispositions from the white race, who could not challenge him on his merits. Blacks at the turn of the century were virtually shut to sports and education, but with the arrival of Johnson, he became the role model for the black youth and they got a new confidence that they could be the achievers. Johnson infused both creativity and competitively amongst the black youth and he led by example, finding his way out of the institutionalized racism. His downfall was on legal grounds. But the astonishing fact about his life was, the way he climbed the ladder of success and reached the point from where he was able to challenge for the heavyweight title. He had neither the support of the family background nor was he fancied by any political support. The essential ingredients for success in life never fell to his lot, and as such the entire credit for his success goes to his own will-power to convert failures in to success. His race failed him; his education failed him; his family living standards failed him. At the end of all these obstacles, emerged the world boxing champion that paved way for his name and fame. At a time when the black boxers were at the mercy of their white managers, Johnson knew the art of controlling them and dictated his terms and never allowed him to be exploited by them. He maintained his training regimen, challenging a host of adverse circumstances, and he was clear about his goals to become the boxing champion. He was hated by the whites on two counts. Firstly, on account of his boxing talents, he was a champion already, and secondly he had sexual liaison with many white women and even married them. That was illegal, besides the white society considered it to be positively dangerous. The author writes, “As white men on both sides of the Atlantic joined together in their search for a “white hope” to unseat Johnson, the boxing ring became a space of intense discussion about the urgent need to police the racial divisions between citizens and subjects”. (28)Apart from the self-efforts to challenge life and emerge successful, he was the product of Time. Johnson was born and lived through the Progressive Era, when America was facing structural changes in societal terms. Between 1912 and 1920, the Constitution was amended four times, more than any other eight-year stretch in American history. Many important legislative and social reforms were introduced and they lent a helping hand to many landmark changes in the American history. Legislations relating to federal income tax, direct election of senators, prohibition, the right to vote for women, were all momentous developments that changed economic and social scenes of America. The author writes about the resurgence of the black community thus: “The age for turning the right cheek if you are hit on the left is past. This is a Jack Johnson age, when the fittest will survive” (p. 236).He was facing opposition from several fronts, though he was not overawed by it. He was condemned by the votaries of national sex purity impulse. That was also a period when the sports activity of boxing was coming under attack by reformers terming it as the barbaric sport. He was hated by the whites, and even amongst the blacks he was not liked for his wayward ways. According to them, he was not the true representative and well-wisher of his own society. Conclusion When he lost the boxing title finally, the period of glory was over. But Johnson lived up to the saying that ‘there is a beauty in the sunrise, and also in the sunset’. He did the same what the famous athletes do in their post-retirement life. He tried to live off his name, participated in exhibition bouts, told his life-story in museums, did some minor roles in movies, became the critic of the upcoming bouts, continued to marry white women, performed as a musician, and this man of cultural bearing always maintained his essential dignity. He was an intelligent, shrewd individual, and found the right place and finally died in an automobile accident in 1946. His driving was always racy and that could be the probable cause of his death. With was an important part of the racial/boxing history of America came to an end. Work Cited Runstedtler, Theresa. Jack Johnson, Rebel Sojourner: Boxing in the Shadow of the Global Color Line. University of California Press; 2013; Print Read More