Aired Monday July 29, 12:45pm - 3:05pmon PBS

Jack Johnson: Unforgivable Blackness

The story of Jack Johnson, the son of former slaves who, in 1908, became boxing's world heavyweight champion and subsequently courted controversy in his personal life until fleeing the US in 1912 to avoid imprisonment following his conviction for a spurious offence. Johnson's story is not just a portrait of a courageous athlete, it is also the story of how a nation was forced to reconcile notions of racial supremacy with one man's determination not to be defined by his colour.

Category
Documentary / Boxing
Date
2013-09-25