[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 5 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. CON. RES. 5
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.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
March 5, 2013
Mr. McCain (for himself, Mr. Reid, and Mr. Cowan) submitted the
following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on
the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
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 Senate (the House of Representatives 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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