Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson

The Jim Crow Era

Clip: Season 1 | 4m 1s  | Video has closed captioning.

Jack Johnson became the first African American world heavyweight boxing champion in the height of the Jim Crow era — a time in which slavery was abolished, but African Americans were not yet truly free.

Aired: 05/01/17

Rating: NR

From:

Problems Playing Video? | Closed Captioning

Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson.

Explore Free Resources
Fight of the Century

INTERACTIVE

Fight of the Century

July 4, 1910, the retired white Heavyweight Champion of the World, Jim Jeffries, tried to take the title back from the African-American current champion, Jack Johnson.

Explore the fight