12 THE GREENSBORO TIMES


Pardon From Trump > from page 1 Johnson.


Still, the fact that Trump says he is considering a full pardon for


Johnson, a boxing legend known as the “Galveston Giant,” is certainly noteworthy – and long overdue.


Trump has an opportunity to right a historic wrong and return dignity


to Johnson and his family years after his death. Johnson earned his place in boxing history but white law enforcement officers conspired to strip Johnson of his legitimate boxing legacy.


Johnson was railroaded by an all-white jury during the Jim Crow


era. He was convicted by the Mann Act, which was designed to prevent prostitution and human trafficking for “immoral purposes,” but the law, some argued correctly, targeted Black men unfairly. He was sentenced to one year in jail and the conviction ultimately ruined his boxing career.


Many of Johnson’s advocates have argued that Johnson should not


have been arrested, charged and convicted under the Mann Act for simply traveling with his girlfriend. But in 1913, Black men seen with white women were often beaten and lynched.


Johnson was certainly a controversial figure. He defeated James


Jeffries in 1910 in what was dubbed “The Fight of the Century.” After Johnson won the fight, race riots erupted across the country as whites were angry that Jeffries was beaten by a Black man.


Three years later, Johnson was convicted under the Mann Act and


many advocates and historians believe Johnson was punished solely for beating Jeffries. It’s important to note that Johnson’s alleged crime took place before the legislation for the Mann Act was passed.


Johnson was also scandalous in his personal life during the Jim Crow


era. He was married three times and all of his wives were white. The media criticized Johnson for what they perceived as flamboyant behavior with his white women.


“For more than 13 years, Jack Johnson was the most famous, and


the most notorious, African-American on Earth,” Ken Burns said his documentary, “Unforgivable Blackness.”


Over the past few years, there have been other efforts to urge a


pardon for Johnson. In 2016, Senators Harry Reid and John McCain and U.S. Reps. Peter King and Gregory Meeks pushed for a pardon. And in 2017, Sen. Cory Booker joined the crusade.


“Despite this resolution passing both chambers of Congress several


times in recent years, no pardon has been issued to date,” McCain said in a statement in 2016. “I hope President Trump will seize the opportunity before him to right this historical wrong and restore a great athlete’s legacy.”


So today, Trump has a chance to set the historical record straight.


Trump hasn’t shown that he understands much about history, social justice or civil rights, but perhaps Stallone can finally encourage Trump to do what’s right.


Whatever is motivating Trump, Johnson, arguably a complex man during complex racial times, deserves his pardon after more than a century.


Alabama’s state offices closed Monday for Confederate Me-


morial Day, an event that is nothing but a chance to promote hate and White supremacy, civil rights groups have said. The state-declared holiday, observed the fourth Monday in


April, actually honors Confederate figures who fought to keep Black people chained to slavery. Confederate Memorial Day traces its roots back to 1866, the year a resolution to set aside a day to recognize Confederate soldiers who lost their lives in the Civil War was passed. Students in Alabama, as well as in Mississippi which commemorates the day as well, have the day off in recognition of this horrifying anti- Black racism. However, activists are not here for it. The Southern Law Poverty Center and Faith In Action AL, a


group fighting for systemic change for Alabamians, was spearhead- ing a movement to get this Confederate-happy day canceled indefi- nitely.


To keep it all the way real, Alabama has a past drowned in


hate. The “Cotton State” is notoriously known to history as one of the most racist states in the country. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. faced the racist hate in Alabama during his historic March from Selma to Montgomery in 1965, and today, the state still commemorates folks who stood for that racism. The fight against this so-called celebration of the Confedera-


cy, however, may just be stronger than the proponents who endorse the observance. Though there are still hundreds of Confederate stat- ues standing across the country, several statutes have come down during the last year. The monuments, erected after the Civil War, will continue to be challenged until each one of them crashes to the ground.


And schools named after Confederate figures have also been


met with opposition, forcing changes that no longer embrace racism. The way forward will likely include more wiping away of symbols of whitewashed history. Folks may be asking themselves this question: When will Alabama find its way to the right side of history?


Civil Rights Groups Call For End


To Confederate Memorial Day BY NEWSONE STAFF


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