IV 
111TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 91 
Expressing the sense of Congress that the President should grant a post-
humous pardon to John Arthur ‘‘Jack’’ Johnson for the 1913 racially 
motivated conviction of Johnson, which diminished his athletic, cultural, 
and historic significance, and tarnished his reputation. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 1, 2009 
Mr. KING of New York (for himself and Mr. JACKSON of Illinois) submitted 
the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on the Judiciary 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of Congress that the President should 
grant a posthumous pardon to John Arthur ‘‘Jack’’ 
Johnson for the 1913 racially motivated conviction of 
Johnson, which diminished his athletic, cultural, and his-
toric significance, and tarnished his reputation. 
Whereas John Arthur ‘‘Jack’’ Johnson was a flamboyant, de-
fiant, and controversial figure in American history who 
challenged racial biases; 
Whereas Jack Johnson was born in Galveston, Texas, in 
1878, to parents who were former slaves; 
Whereas Jack Johnson was a professional boxer who traveled 
throughout the United States and the world, fighting 
both Black and White heavyweight boxers; 
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•HCON 91 IH 
Whereas in 1908 after being denied the opportunity to fight 
two White boxing champions on purely racial grounds, 
Jack Johnson was granted an opportunity by an Aus-
tralian promoter to fight Tommy Burns, the reigning 
world heavyweight champion; 
Whereas Jack Johnson defeated Burns to become the first 
African-American to hold the title of world heavyweight 
champion; 
Whereas the victory of Jack Johnson over Burns prompted 
the search for a White boxer who could beat him, a re-
cruitment effort dubbed the search for the ‘‘Great White 
Hope’’; 
Whereas in Reno, Nevada, in 1910, in what was referred to 
by many as the ‘‘Battle of the Century’’, a White former 
heavyweight champion named James ‘‘Jim’’ Jeffries 
came back from retirement to fight, and lose to, Jack 
Johnson; 
Whereas the defeat of Jeffries by Jack Johnson sparked riot-
ing and aggression toward African-Americans and led to 
racially motivated murders of African-Americans nation-
wide; 
Whereas the resentment felt toward Jack Johnson by many 
Whites was compounded by his relationships with White 
women; 
Whereas, between 1901 and 1910, 754 African-Americans 
were lynched, some simply for being ‘‘too familiar’’ with 
White women; 
Whereas in 1910 Congress passed the White-slave traffic Act 
(commonly known as the ‘‘Mann Act’’), which outlawed 
the transportation of women in interstate or foreign com-
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•HCON 91 IH 
Whereas Jack Johnson supported this Nation during World 
War II by encouraging citizens to buy war bonds and by 
participating in exhibition boxing matches to promote the 
sale of war bonds; 
Whereas Jack Johnson died in an automobile accident in 
1946; and 
Whereas in 1954 Jack Johnson was inducted into the Boxing 
Hall of Fame: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) John Arthur ‘‘Jack’’ Johnson paved the 
way for African-American athletes to participate and 
succeed in racially integrated professional sports in 
the United States; 
(2) Jack Johnson was wronged by a racially 
motivated conviction prompted by his success in the 
boxing ring and his relationships with White women; 
(3) the criminal conviction of Jack Johnson un-
justly ruined his career and destroyed his reputation; 
and 
(4) the President should grant a posthumous 
pardon to Jack Johnson to expunge from the annals 
of American criminal justice a racially motivated 
abuse of the prosecutorial authority of the Federal 
Government, and to recognize Jack Johnson’s ath-
letic and cultural contributions to society. 
Æ 
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