Analysis Of The Book ' Jack Johnson Is A Dandy ' Essay

People often think of family as positive, loving, and with no flaws. However, there is almost a stereotype that all families love each other and there aren’t problems or challenges in a family. Sometimes families put people through challenges and some families aren’t “perfect”. In the book Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff, Jolly has two kids and goes through challenges with her family. Most careful readers can see how Jolly has these challenges with her kids and how she is far off from the “perfect” family. She goes through many of these challenges in life and finds a way to overcome them. Jollys family shapes her identity because the challenges she faces ends up making her stronger. Jeremy and Jilly challenging her, LaVaughn helping her out, and her past family all shape her identity.

was more then just a boxer. Joe was a hero to the African American community. She tells about

During a time when blacks were considered less than equals to whites, Jack Johnson refused to be oppressed by racist America. He was both unafraid and uncompromising. He went wherever he chose, did whatever he wanted, and controversially had sexual relations with whichever race of women he wanted.

amounts of money presented major obstacles, Jack Johnson tells the story himself in his autobiography “My Life and Battles,” finally moved up in rankings and eventually became the Colored Heavyweight champion in 1903, by defeating “Denver” Ed Martin February 3, 1903. (Jack Johnson 36-38, Roberts 28-29). Meanwhile, the heavyweight champion at this time was James Jeffries, who would continue the racist tradition of keeping the title within the White race by refusing to fight any boxer of color. (Roberts 17-19). Subsequent white champions also drew the color line, until after more than three years of stalking the new champion Tommy Burns around the world, Johnson finally received his opportunity to capture the Heavyweight crown. (Johnson 68). Memorable and historic, on December 26, 1908 Johnson easily pummeled Burns, mercifully the fight was stopped in the fourteenth round by policemen, and the filming of the fight was ordered to be stopped fearful of exposing the myth of White supremacy throughout the globe. (Runstedtler 56-62). Of larger concern that the film would encourage the Black community to seek equality in other societal matters the government banned the transport of fight films across state lines. The impetus to censure Johnson’s victory led to a government regulation of the content of all films as noted in the article, Fighting films: race, morality, and the governing of cinema, 1912-1915. (Lee Grieveson, Farr131-34). Triumphal, Jack Johnson had enduringly achieved

Boxing, an official sanctioned sport in the early 20th century, is a sport that is known as one of the most violent and physically demanding sports on the earth. Professional boxers that get paid to fight must be in top shape in order to preform at the highest level. Being a professional boxer is a tough life. Boxers train hard for many months leading up to one fight and either win, lose, knock out the opponent or even get knocked out. The sport has been around for centuries, but has most recently taken off over the last 100 years. It is a multibillion dollar industry with fighters taking home hundreds of thousands of dollars if not even millions of dollars for big matches. In his novel Papa Jack, Roberts tells the story of the famous African American boxer Jack Johnson. He details the boxers rise to fame and fortune and his downward spiral that would soon follow. In Papa Jack, Roberts displays life of a professional boxer through firsthand accounts with events that happened during Johnson’s life and shows how boxing not only influenced his life but also how he influenced the African American community.

The author, Randy Roberts in his article “Jack Johnson wins the Heavyweight Championship” sheds light on the fight of Jack Johnson with Tommy Burns, he highlights the racial attitude in the twentieth century. Roberts opens his article by mentioning about the concerned whites, as the author proceeds, according to the whites it was a tragic and saddest day of their lives as the race won. While Dixie was agitated, firstly because of the Booker T. Washington dined at the White House and secondly was the victory of Jack Johnson. However, the blacks rejoiced all over the United States with this news. Roberts mentions about a journalist report, it stated that the genuine satisfaction the blacks experienced with the single victory of Johnson was not been observed in forty years.

     This was a time when blacks were being discriminated against, the military was segregated, blacks were not allowed to play Major League Baseball. When he started boxing early in the 1930's hero worship was not achievable in any professional sports, there were none that were able

James Burke, also known as James Burke or the Deaf Un, was born December 8, 1809, in England. He was born with deafness (He can’t hear). He grew up living in a very poor family. His mother and father died when he was at a very young, so he really had no parents to help him with his boxing career. He worked on the River Thames as a waterman, before he had started his actual career. He started boxing professionally in 1828. Five years later, on May 30th he fought Simon Byrne (the Irish champion) for the World Heavyweight championship and won, the fight had lasted a total of three hours and six minutes, but the previous WHC (World Heavyweight Champion), Jem Ward,

Tommy Burns was the new heavy weight champion and like Jefferies, he to was denying Johnson a shot at the title. This time Johnson was not having it. He followed Burns for two years from San Francisco to New York from Paris to London, mocking him to fight him. Burns would just state that Johnson was yellow, eventually it was said that King Henry himself called Burns a bluffer, I guess this got to Burns for in the end he agreed to fight Johnson for 30,000 dollars win, lose, or draw. This

Gorn goes to discuss the rules and regulations of boxing, stating; “The two athletes settle on a site for the fight. Strip to their shirts, roll their sleeves up…” (Gorn, pg.37) By adding this information and going to such detail as he does; “At the end of the fight the boxers are bruised, disfigured, and covered with blood, which they spit out, vomit out, or drip from the nose.” allows the reader to get a feel for how violent these fights were but also to allow readers to dive into the fight with their feet first. Gorn goes on to discuss more fights and discusses ‘The Great

Author and sociologist, Dalton Conley, is a Caucasian boy who grows up in a predominantly African-American and Latino neighborhood in the Lower East Side of Manhattan during the 1970’s and 80’s. In his book, Honky, he tells us a unique view through a young boy’s eyes uncovering the way in which individuals are perceived in social reality, and how some groups of people are classified. He also speaks about how some groups get better opportunities and privileges then others. This book is a very powerful autobiography, according to his book, written by, “not your typical middle class white male.” (prologue, p. xiii) He goes on to say that he is middle class, even though his parents didn’t have any money and that he is a white boy, even though he grew up in an inner city housing project where mostly everyone was Black or Hispanic. Dalton speaks about his experience as a white boy exploring his definition of race and class and saying that, “race and class are nothing more than a set of stories we tell ourselves to get through the world, to organize our reality.” (prologue, p. xiv) He describes his childhood as a “social science experiment, Find out what being middle class really means by raising a kid from a so-called good family in a so-called bad neighborhood.” (prologue, p. xiii)

Ellison’s use of language helps imply the animalistic treatment of the young fighters (German). A writer for the Chicago Sun-Times, Michael Eric Dyson, is thoroughly amazed by Ellison’s wordplay by saying, “He spoke elegantly of the beautiful absurdity of the American identity (Dyson).” The choice of words Ellison navigate through America’s history of ideas (Dyson). The portrayal of fighters emphasize the fact that “blacks” were socially inferior. White’s would of never thought to view blacks in the same “league” with them. At this time, no one could imagine the battle royal happening with white’s fighting with an animalistic intentions, while rich, black men sat smoking cigars, cheering for brutality. By using nouns and adjectives, the description of the young fighting has a deeper, harsher connotation.

Johnson followed Jeffries from town to town. “Jeffries, however, refused to fight a black boxer and instead decided to retire undefeated.”(Unforgivable Blackness). The Championship was handed over to a white named Tommy Burns, who as well declined to fight Johnson but eventually gave in at the cost of thirty thousand dollars. In the year 1908, Johnson knocked out Burns in the sixteenth round, to win the title and create history. “He was a fast and brilliant defensive boxer who fought at a time when white champions like John L. Sullivan and James Jeffries refused to fight black fighters. Jeffries retired rather than face Johnson, but he returned six years later when the clamor for a great white hope could not be ignored”(Sandomir D3). Even James Jefferies was beaten and and thus, Johnson had beat all that stood in his way, from bottom to the top. Through perseverance and relentlessness, Johnson had achieved his dream.

Harry Wills, also known as The Black Panther in boxing, has inspired many colored youths to participate in sports themselves. Currently, he has  been unable to fight in the heavyweight title, and he probably never will get the chance to because dangerous black men like him are prohibited from doing so. Nobody can really prove that Wills is the best boxer because he is unable to fight against the white race, but he wins just about every match he gets into with the colored. Full of excuses, George Dempsey, was the white boxing legend who could not fight against Harry Wills even though over 500 newspaper polls estimated that Harry would win. Boxing has become very popular with all Americans, but racial prejudice remains, so it will be difficult

The “Fight of the Century” between Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Manny Pacquiao shared similarities with the Fight of Last Century between Jack Johnson and Jim Jeffries in terms of grandeur and publicity. The fight between Johnson and Jeffries was painted on a background of racism and is viewed as a key event in the struggle against white supremacy. However, with the U.S. striving to eliminate racism, Mayweather vs. Pacquiao was not centered on racial conflict. Nonetheless, the fight on May 2, 2015 contained ingredients of social justice issues. “Mayweather is Jack Johnson without a redeeming side. Johnson, despite a polarizing persona, at least inspired pride among black folk. Mayweather's violent history with women renders him a hip O.J. Simpson,