IV 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. CON. RES. 31 

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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2017 

Mr. KING of New York (for himself, Mr. MEEKS, Mr. COHEN, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. NORTON, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania, and 

Mrs. BEATTY) 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; 


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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; 


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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; 


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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 

1 Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 

2 concurring), That it remains the sense of Congress that 

3 Jack Johnson should receive a posthumous pardon— 

4 (1) to expunge a racially motivated abuse of the 

5 prosecutorial authority of the Federal Government 

6 from the annals of criminal justice in the United 

7 States; and 


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1 (2) in recognition of the athletic and cultural 

2 contributions of Jack Johnson to society. 

Æ 


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