By: Aaron Snowell
The Johnson Exhibit
Boxing is among the first and most high profile spaces to accept African American terms of equality, boxing has had a unique role within American culture, with in the black communities, boxing have always been political from the refusal to allow African Americans an opportunity to fight for the Heavyweight Championship called Drawing the color line.
Jack Johnson fought the refusal to allow African American an opportunity to for the championship title.
Johnson was heavyweight champion of the Colored World Boxing League. Johnson fought hard to won battles to compete at the levels of the Jim Crow Era
In 1908 Johnson won The Heavyweight Champion of the World by knocking out Tommy Burns in Australia which sent shock wave around the world that a African American has won the Heavyweight Championship of the World.
Exhibit Message:
-Boxing matters beyond the ring
-this exhibition demonstrates Johnson contribution and challenges in American politics and culture
-How African American created their own boxing institutions most notably during the era of segregation
The exhibition examines the impact Johnson played
- the exhibition shows Johnson leveling the playing field for African American and the quest for freedom,justice and equality
-the exhibition encourages visitors to think about ways they can help make boxing and America a more greater place to live and work by providing historical context for discussions about race and social justice in business and sports.
