Current Tonight | November 01, 2009 | 38 comments

John McCain wants Barack Obama to pardon Jack Johnson the famous boxer

source: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jxZUzUJNy8yUJqArJJG4BWTCHXZAD9BCDEVO0

Future_America
Sen. John McCain pressed President Barack Obama to give a posthumous pardon to Jack Johnson, the black heavyweight boxing champion who was imprisoned nearly a century ago because of his romantic ties with a white woman.

McCain, R-Ariz., and Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., noted in a letter to Obama that both houses of Congress this summer passed their resolution urging a pardon. After the vote, the lawmakers wrote to Obama in August asking him to issue the pardon.

"Regrettably, we have not received a response from you or any member of your administration," they wrote in the letter, adding they hoped that Obama would be eager to "right this wrong and erase an act of racism that sent an American citizen to prison."

The White House declined to comment on the letter.

When he unveiled the resolution in April, McCain said he was sure that Obama "will be more than eager" to issue the pardon. McCain said he was still confident the president would do so.

"The president's been very, very busy," McCain said in a telephone interview with the Associated Press. "Hopefully, this letter will be a kind of reminder that it's important to get it done. But I'm not critical of the president yet. We'll give him some time."

The senator said he hasn't personally talked to Obama about the issue.

"The conversations that I've been having with him have been on Afghanistan," he said. "But we'll see what result we get from this letter."

Johnson became the first black heavyweight champion on Dec. 26, 1908 — 100 years before Obama was elected the first black president. Johnson won the title after police in Australia stopped his 14-round match against the severely battered Canadian world champion, Tommy Burns.

That led to a search for a "Great White Hope" who could beat Johnson. Two years later, Jim Jeffries, the American world titleholder Johnson had tried for years to fight, came out of retirement but lost in a match called "The Battle of the Century," resulting in deadly riots.

Johnson was convicted in 1913 of violating the Mann Act, which made it illegal to transport women across state lines for immoral purposes. He fled the country after his conviction, but agreed years later to return and serve a 10-month jail sentence.

Filmmaker Ken Burns helped form the Committee to Pardon Jack Johnson, which filed a petition with the Justice Department in 2004 that was never acted on. His 2005 documentary, "Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson," explored the case against the boxer and the sentencing judge's acknowledged desire to "send a message" to black men about relationships with white women.

McCain and King — both of whom have done their share of amateur boxing — pushed similar resolutions in recent years but only this year were able to get it through both chambers of Congress.


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38 comments // John McCain wants Barack Obama to pardon Jack Johnson the famous boxer // Video

  • samthesixth
  • JulianCommongold
    • 0
      JulianCommongold  

    • If anybody really knows the TRUE Jack Johnson story then you know he should be EXONERATED not pardoned.
      He did nothing to be pardoned for.

      Pardon:
      A pardon is the forgiveness of a crime and the penalty associated with it. It is granted by a head of state, such as a monarch or president, or by a competent church authority.

      Exonerated:
      free somebody from blame or guilt: to declare officially that somebody is not to blame or is not guilty of wrongdoing

      freaking McCain

      First he unleashes that media whore Palin and now insults the memory of a great American.

    • 2 years ago
  • Admirable
  • lukea925
  • mojojuju
    • 0
      mojojuju  

    • Pay attention numb skulls.

      This is not some stunt created by McCain to make Obama look bad, or whatever your crazy little minds can come up with as your own explanation of McCain's motive.

      McCain has been trying to get a pardon for Jack Johnson since at least 2004 according to the congressional record.

      http://www.congress.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?r108:S05OC4-0020:

      The point I'm trying to get across is that McCain has been seeking this pardon long before most of America even knew who Obama was.

      Also, there's lots of criticism towards McCain in this thread. That's expected from people as biased as the community here at current.

      I'm absolutely positive sure that had Obama came up with the idea to pardon Jack Johnson, you guys would all have a fuzzy feeling about it and you'd be giving internet props to the pres for being such a swell guy.

    • 2 years ago
  • JulianCommongold
    • 0
      JulianCommongold  
    • mojojuju:

      Your an idiot.
      Johnson should be exonerated not pardoned.... he did nothing wrong to be pardoned for.
      Stop sucking the McCain teat long enough to understand what is truly right and wrong in this context.
      McCain is a fool.

      And i got your numb skull swinging.

    • 2 years ago
  • carmalite
    • 0
      carmalite  

    • McCain voted against the civil rights bill and a holliday honoring Martin Luther King so I guess he is changing in his old age as many people do..

    • 2 years ago
  • lifestudentno83
    • 0
      lifestudentno83  

    • I fail to realize what relevance this has on the current state of the country today. Shouldn't our Senators and House Represenatives be focused on more pressing issues such as health care, the current war, and the economy? How is pardoning a long-dead boxer who was convicted of a crime nearly a century ago going to help any of the more important issues in our society?

      I think this is just a bait for an attack from the Right. If he pardons him, he admits Johnson did something worth the pardon. If he doesn't pardon him, they make him out to be insensitive to the situation and call him a racist. If he takes too long to decide, he'll be made to look indecisive. Those who know how the Right-Wing Propaganda Machine (a.k.a. Faxed News) works should realize the set up.

      Just let the boxer rest in peace, and quit using him as a crutch, McCain. We all know you could care less about black people.

      EDIT: Meant to say "century", not "decade".
      And McCain doesn't care about Black boxers.

    • 2 years ago
  • LaMonica109
    • 0
      LaMonica109  

    • UGGHHH..as an American, and as an African American.. I DO NOT believe Jack Johnson should be pardoned..as he DID NOTHING TO BE PARDONED FOR... Murderers receive pardons for their crimes... And you can't right a wrong done to a long dead person who will never benefit from it. It's just like when President Clinton was asked to give Rosa Parks a pardon for her "crime"..and he refused...because she didn't do anything that required a pardon...

    • 2 years ago
  • Zurama
  • samthesixth
    • 0
      samthesixth  

    • I hope the comments here on Current are not indicative of the way Americans feel about this. Forget about McCain, look at Jack Johnson. He should be pardoned. It's not about McCain!

    • 2 years ago
  • NuclearLullaby
    • 0
      NuclearLullaby  

    • McCain of course is trying a little sneaky tactic often used by Republicans! What he is really trying to do is turn the public against Obama! McCain is just using the boxer as a pawn in a very evil plan! McCain made it very clear a few years ago that he's a pretty racist guy,so this is just him trying to claim he's not,just so the general public will like him more! How pathetic!!!

    • 2 years ago
  • modeliste
  • Admirable
    • 0
      Admirable  

    • McCain is trying to divert attention away from anything meaningful like trying to make sure every citizen in the United States can get Health Care!

      Throw us a bone you friggen dinosaur!!!

    • 2 years ago
  • Matthew_Bowler
    • 0
      Matthew_Bowler  

    • Why are all the comments about McCain and Obama? SHOULD THIS GUY BE PARDONED OR NOT??? Oh crap.. he is dead already. Thanks for wasting my time McCain.

    • 2 years ago
  • letlhogonolo
  • eskimoe
    • 0
      eskimoe  

    • Well my get tells me that he was not pimping but I guess it comes down to whether or not they had substantial evidence at court back then. My conspiracy theory side tells me that they are setting Obama up so he pardons the man and then everyone will be saying that of course Obama's first pardon went to a black guy.

    • 2 years ago
  • neocongo
    • 0
      neocongo  

    • Perfect. "John, this is Barack. We'll see about pardoning the boxer as soon as you and the rest of Arizona recognize MLK day. Chop chop. You're not getting any younger John."

    • 2 years ago
  • samthesixth
  • desertcat
    • 0
      desertcat  

    • All of the sudden McCain is concerned with the plight of an African American. Funny coming from him a senator from Arizona, a state that refuses to honor Dr. King. Hey John, you lost the election, you have no say. Why don't you and the Mooseburger go quail hunting and ask Cheney along.

    • 2 years ago
  • mojojuju
  • keanu101
    • 0
      keanu101  

    • OAre you kidding me, Mccain didn't even want Martin Luther King Birthday to be a holiday. WE CAN SEE RIGHT THROUGH MCCAIN!! FEDERAL EMPLOYEES ARE FORCE TO RETIRE AFTER 65YRS OF AGE, BUT YET POLITICIANS CAN KEEP ON WORKING!! WE SHOULD CREATE A LAW TO FORCE POLITICIANS TO RETIRE TOO.

    • 2 years ago
  • mojojuju
  • Makavelli45
    • 0
      Makavelli45  

    • I have recently learned about Jack Johnson and I must say he is one of my favorite athletes of all time, he had swag, guts, style, everything that Ali was before there was Ali. Not enough people know about him. Get Learned

    • 2 years ago
  • desertcat
  • JulianCommongold
  • dalistuff18
  • Dmoneymeden
    • 0
      Dmoneymeden  

    • America has and has had flaws and their no way around it. By simply making something right on paper doesn't do anything. The wrong deed was already done so there's nothing to be done. And if Obama pardons him, shouldn't every person convicted of a crime due to blatant racism be pardoned as well, and not just those alive.

    • 2 years ago
  • ahappymintleaf
    • 0
      ahappymintleaf  

    • Is this how McCain wants to project an image of relevance and clear direction with the task at hand? While it's true Johnson should be pardoned, and I doubt many would disagree, it seems like an understatement to say Obama is "very, very very busy." How about the rights of lgbt soldiers in the military? Trails for those indefinitely imprisoned in Gitmo? Figuring out what to do with two misdirected wars or, you know, health care? McCain shouldn't have bothered going to the press with this. He is gaining nothing.

    • 2 years ago
  • FishaHouse777
    • 0
      FishaHouse777  

    • No offence to the maverick but why is he so anxious for Obama to pardon this boxer? I think McCain's trying to prove that he's not racist towards Obama and black people by showing off that he really wants Barack to pardon him. But that only makes it more obvious to me.....or i'm just over-analyzing this haha

    • 2 years ago
  • mojojuju
    • 0
      mojojuju  
    • FishaHouse777:

      You might understand more about McCain's intentions by reading the last paragraph of the article which says:

      "McCain and King — both of whom have done their share of amateur boxing — pushed similar resolutions in recent years but only this year were able to get it through both chambers of Congress."

      Or read the following congressional record which would indicate that McCain has been trying to get Jack Johnson pardoned since 2004.
      http://www.congress.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?r108:S05OC4-0020:

      And additionally, to answer your question - yes, you are over-analyzing and assuming way too much.

    • 2 years ago
  • Zurama
    • 0
      Zurama  
    • FishaHouse777:

      How the heck would you know if McCain is racist or not. Do you know him personally, or do you just assume he is racist, because he is white? You have a lot nerve disrespecting a man that sacrificed so much for our freedoms. He spend five years as a prisoner of war for this great country-all of it, everyone in it!!

    • 2 years ago
  • FishaHouse777
    • 0
      FishaHouse777  
    • FishaHouse777:

      To mojojuju, thank you for the pointer's that info did show me alot.

      To Zurama, what the hell are you talking about I didn't call him racist and I AM white, so everything you just said is fallacious. I was merely saying this whole situation looks like that, but I looked up on it further thanks to mojo and change my mind.

    • 2 years ago
  • freecrack
    • 0
      freecrack  

    • being as obama and mccain battles for the presidency on polar opposite platforms and mccain lost fairly drasticly the answer is simple. whatever mccain thinks is a good idea offends the majority. in terms of mccain, obama has a simple job just do the opposite thing and the public will praise you

    • 2 years ago
  • Maeveeo
    • 0
      Maeveeo  

    • There is more to this then meets the eye !!!!!!!! Was he not the person who called Mr. Obama ,,,,,,,,THAT ONE !!!!!!!,,,,,,,Yeah he is !

    • 2 years ago
  • mojojuju
    • 0
      mojojuju  
    • Maeveeo:

      Yes, I remember how some of McCain's critics turned the words "that one" into a racial epithet.

      Everybody knows Obama is not to be called "that one", but rather "The One".

      So yeah, I understand what you're saying.

    • 2 years ago
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