UPDATE: Boxer Jack Johnson is posthumously pardoned by President Trump
Source: Washington Post
President Trump granted a posthumous pardon to boxer Jack Johnson on Thursday, wiping clean his 1913 Mann Act conviction. Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion, was convicted under federal legislation that made it illegal to cross state lines with a woman for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose. Jim Crow-era prosecutors often used the legislation as an anti-miscegenation device.
Trump tweeted last month that he would consider the pardon after receiving a call from actor Sylvester Stallone, who, according to the president, had explained the fighters complex and controversial life. A truly great fighter, Trump said Thursday in the Oval Office, where he signed the pardon in a ceremony attended by boxing legend Lennox Lewis and Stallone. He had a tough life.
Trump noted that a pardon for Johnson, whom he called one of the greatest that ever lived, had considerable support in Congress, including within the Congressional Black Caucus. The president said Johnson served prison time for what many view a racially motivated injustice.
Congressional leaders had long lobbied presidents to pardon Johnson; No president ever signed it, surprisingly, Trump said Thursday. A bill requesting a pardon from George W. Bush passed the House of Representatives in 2008 but died in the Senate.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2018/05/24/boxer-jack-johnson-is-posthumously-pardoned-by-president-trump/?utm_term=.d7016437e8ff
Original article -
Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion, was convicted in 1913 under the Mann Act, federal legislation that made it illegal to cross state lines with a woman for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose. Jim Crow-era prosecutors often used the legislation as a type of anti-miscegenation law.
Trump tweeted last month that he would consider the pardon after a call from actor Sylvester Stallone, who according to the president explained the fighters complex and controversial life.
Congressional leaders have long sought a pardon for Johnson, who died in 1946. A bill requesting a pardon from George W. Bush passed the House of Representatives in 2008 but died in the Senate. A 1,000-page education bill in 2015 included a provision requesting a pardon for Johnson. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and former senator Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), along with Congressmen Peter T. King (R-N.Y.) and Gregory W. Meeks (D-N.Y.), requested a pardon from President Obama in 2016.
This is a developing story. It will be updated.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/politics/wp/2018/05/24/boxer-jack-johnson-is-posthumously-pardoned-by-president-trump/?utm_term=.e55e399952a7
yallerdawg
(16,104 posts)"We're not racist anymore! See?"
BumRushDaShow
(127,321 posts)(ETA - may have been a Don King request)
Hugin
(32,778 posts)The snowballing Big Lie is starting to roll back on the Tangeranus.
yallerdawg
(16,104 posts)someone like Don King might have mentioned how this long-standing injustice could appear to "help" a little as the Dotard panders to his white supremacist and covertly racist base.
BumRushDaShow
(127,321 posts)Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)MythosMaster
(444 posts)not on tv. The good ol days.
BumRushDaShow
(127,321 posts)Kudos to them!
Anon-C
(3,430 posts)...is an act of genuis stability.
TeamPooka
(24,156 posts)bucolic_frolic
(42,678 posts)He's had his
Iggo
(47,489 posts)DinahMoeHum
(21,737 posts). . .if DJT were POTUS then.
This shit is fooling nobody.
Hoyt
(54,770 posts)kimbutgar
(20,882 posts)He has done so much for black people.
hatrack
(59,442 posts)7962
(11,841 posts)I dont give a shit if it was trump that did it. It NEEDED to be done.
BlueStater
(7,596 posts)Meanwhile, the fucker is perfectly content to let LIVING minorities continue to rot in prison for minor offenses.
7962
(11,841 posts)Why apologize for slavery? They're all dead.
And the prison reform bill may start to address the issue you mention. Van Jones says its a good start. I'll take his word for it as im sure he knows far more than I.
dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)Reading comments on the Twitter feed about the pardon, several people were cheering that he is now "free" after being unjustly locked up.
I wish I was kidding.
LanternWaste
(37,748 posts)"I don't give a sh*t if Trump is engaging in publicity stunts. This publicity stunt NEEDED to be done!"
I'm not surprised at your sentiment... or your alleged reason for it.
NewJeffCT
(56,827 posts)why had no previous presidents done it for publicity? I mean, George W Bush was a genuine sports fan and it would have worked with Karl Rove's idea of reaching out to minority voters.
7962
(11,841 posts)Never anything positive to offer to anyone, just incessant blather & criticism. You wont get a response.
I agree with you; and thats a good point. Bush could've issued a pardon when the bill stalled in the Senate.
I believe Van Jones said it right; (paraphrasing) "If I dont agree with you on 99 things, I'm supposed to ignore you on the one I DO agree with you on?" regarding the prison reform bill.
elmac
(4,642 posts)its long overdue but since tRump is only about tRump I think this is just a publicity stunt.
BumRushDaShow
(127,321 posts)was deep in the "entertainment" world, which included pageants, boxing, and casinos. It is very much within his "knowledge base" whereas anything to do with "government" and "diplomacy" is far outside of the scope.
forgotmylogin
(7,496 posts)If this man were still alive he'd never consider pardoning him.
Paladin
(28,204 posts)You actually think cutting Jack Johnson a pardon, more than a century late, will take attention away from the NFL clusterfuck? Maybe on fox "news" and Hannity's overheated excuse for a brain---nowhere else......
FailureToCommunicate
(13,989 posts)coal" the captain says is the line from this song by Ledbelly.
Captain Smith, when he got his load,
Mighta heared him holl'in', "All aboa'd!"
Cryin', "Fare thee, Titanic, fare thee well."
Jack Johnson wanted to ge on boa'd;
Captain Smith hollered, "I ain' haulin' no coal."
Cryin', "Fare thee, Titanic, fare thee well."
Cha
(295,929 posts)FailureToCommunicate
(13,989 posts)Cha
(295,929 posts)orangecrush
(19,237 posts)JI7
(89,182 posts)Blue_Tires
(55,445 posts)BumRushDaShow
(127,321 posts)sheshe2
(83,355 posts)Fugg trump.
RockRaven
(14,784 posts)it also sends a message the way the Arpaio pardon did. Pardons are available, quid pro quo, for loyalty to Trump.
With Arpaio it was "go ahead, get held in contempt, I'll pardon you."
Johnson's charge was, in todays language, a type of sex-trafficking. Now why would Trump need to send a message to sex-traffickers that pardons are on the table? Who is this aimed at? Jeffrey Epstein? Dershowitz? People from Trump Modeling?
NOVADAVE
(15 posts)He was never convicted. Pardoning suggests he was guilty
BumRushDaShow
(127,321 posts)This doesn't mean the charges weren't totally bogus but that it was the typical terrorizing bullshit of the Jim Crow era (which continues as the "James Crow, Esq" era nowadays).