Hello and welcome to This Day, a history show from Radiotopia.

My name is Jody Avergan.

This day, June 1913, heavyweight champion boxer Jack Johnson is sentenced under the Man Act for violations.

It is a case that is largely understood to be about backlash

to Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion who not only defeated white boxers

along the way, but did so with swagger and bravado. And that folks did not go over where

very well was not taken too kindly in the 19 teens by the white establishment. This is also an era of prohibition

and moral codes and the rise of the Man Act, which was intended to prevent prostitution and

sexual slavery, but was often used to go after black men for dating white women, which is exactly

what happened in the case of Jack Johnson, who had a number of white

girlfriends. So let's talk about the rise and fall of Jack Johnson, the miscegenation

fears of the era, not to mention the fears of black athletes surpassing white athletes.

Here, as always, Nicole Hammer of Vanderbilt and Kelly Carter Jackson of Wesley. Hello there.

Hello, Jody.

Hey there.

Let me give a little background on who Jack Johnson was.

Let's get to know him a little bit.

He was the first black world heavyweight boxing champion.

His title was 1908 to 1915.

He was born.

His parents were enslaved.

He was born in 1878 in Galveston, Texas. Very poor,

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