but, unless stories of him throwing the fight are to be believed, he soon faded and was knocked
out in the 26th round (at the time there was no limit on the number of rounds).
Johnson eventually surrendered to federal authorities in 1920 and remained in prison until July 9,
1921. According to the Ring Record Book, Johnson retired with a record of 79-8 with 46 knockouts,
12 draws and 14 no-decisions. He was a charter member of the Boxing Hall of Fame. His athletic
exploits, however, cannot fully reflect Jack Johnson's impact on sport, culture, and society.
Zirin sums up: “Today when ‘Driving While Black’ is a daily reality for millions, and blacks suffer
mass incarceration, learning about Johnson and his era can inspire us toward the kind of defiance
we must bring to our own era.”
TIMELINE:
1900 Mark Twain, commenting on the Spanish-American War, says: “I have seen that we do not intend to
free but to subjugate the Philippines. And so I am an anti-imperialist. I am opposed to having the eagle put
its talons on any other land… I have a strong aversion to sending our bright boys out there to fight with a
disgraced musket under a polluted flag.”
1901 Louis Armstrong is born. He would go on to revolutionize American jazz. Dizzy Gillespie later said,
“Armstrong's station in the history of jazz is umimpeachable. If it weren't for him, there wouldn't be any of us.”
1903 W.E.B. DuBois writes The Souls of Black Folk.
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