Jack Johnson Pardon

Sometimes it takes nearly 100 years for the judicial/political system to straighten out an injustice. Jack Johnson, the world heavyweight champ from 1908 to 1915 and a man with appetites to match his outsized physique and talent, had to serve a year in prison from 1920-1921 for allegedly violating the Mann Act (i.e. "transporting women across state lines for immoral purposes"). Johnson's crime was that the woman thus transported was white, and he was black. The then new law was enough of a catch-all it could be applied to situations of the kind. Johnson's was the first such instance. Considering that good ol' fashioned lynching was the other favored method of discouraging black-white pairings in those days, he was relatively lucky.

But from today's perspective, it's pretty ridiculous he was prosecuted, much less convicted. Johnson's trial was as much about his flamboyant personality and decisive victories over white opponents as his sexual exploits outside the ring. And that is why there has been a move afoot the past few years for a posthumous presidential pardon. Senator John McCain, a big boxing fan, has been the driving force behind it. He, Rep. Peter King, filmmaker Ken Burns, and Johnson's great niece Linda Haywood will appear at a joint press conference tonight to announce another pardon resolution. Similar legislation failed to pass congress last year and in 2004, so its prospects are uncertain.

Mystifying, really. Seems like an easy enough call to me.