The Conversation
When a Black boxing champion beat the ‘Great White Hope,’ all hell broke loose
Black heavyweight champion Jack Johnson, right, beat James Jeffries in 1910, sparking racial violence. George Haley, San Francisco Call, via University of California, Riverside, via Library of CongressAn audacious Black heavyweight champion was slated to defend his title against a white boxer in Reno, Nevada, on July 4, 1910. It was billed as “the fight of the century.” The fight was seen as a referendum on racial superiority – and all hell was about to break loose in the racially divided United
