Black History Month program to honor boxer pardoned posthumously

The Texas A&M UniversityTexarkana Honors Program and the Department of History will hold the first Honors Program Colloquium of the spring semester today in honor of Black History Month.

The lecture, titled “Trouble with The Man: Jack Johnson, White Hopes and the First Black Heavyweight Champion,” will be presented by visiting Assistant Professor of History Dr. Andrew McGregor. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will be held from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in Room 217 of the University Center.

President Donald Trump posthumously pardoned AfricanAmerican boxer Jack Johnson in May 2018, leading many Americans to wonder who Johnson was and why he needed to be pardoned.

As the first black heavyweight champion of the world, his triumph in 1908 disrupted the social and racial hierarchy of the day. After winning the title, his character and his career faced constant attack. The lecture will explore Johnson’s career, legacy and impact.