Jack Johnson

Before Dec. 26, 1908, no black man had ever fought for the world heavyweight championship. Champ Tommy Burns accepted the enormous sum of $30,000 to give Jack Johnson a shot, and the Galveston Giant made history. As champion, Johnson lived larger than anyone had seen from a black man -- fine clothes, extravagant parties, international celebrity. This made him a hero to many in the black community but did not endear him to white America and calls went out for a “Great White Hope” to defeat him. B