https://youtu.be/1CHTlULRGzU
Dave Chappelle Nails Why MAGA Fears Black History
A resurfaced Dave Chappelle bit about legendary Black heavyweight champion Jack Johnson perfectly captures why MAGA’s crusade to rewrite and erase history is so dangerous. Johnson’s story exposed the fragility of white supremacy in the boxing ring and beyond — and the violent backlash that followed. As Rick Strom explains, Chappelle’s comedy reveals deeper truths about America’s refusal to confront racism, and why protecting Black history is essential.
Transcript
Elliot Spitzer was going to get prosecuted under the man act. And that says it all. You know the man act? The man act. The man act. The man act is the law that says it's illegal to take it's illegal to take a girl across state lines for purposes of debauchery. The man act was written to get one man. And that man was Jack Mother Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion of the world. He used to beat the *** out of white men and leave the arena with white women in the 20s.
It was amazing. He the whole matrix up. When Jack Johnson won the world championship, he chased the white champion. Back then, white champions would be like, "I don't fight black people. It's beneath me. But really, they was scared to death. Jack Johnson was huge. Hey, you seen them old tapes and them boxers? Them mother like this, Jack Johnson moved like a modern person. You know, if I had a time machine, I could be the heavyweight champion in the world. And then he would leave the arena and he would openly have sex with white women all the time. Now, you think he would get persecuted for that, but they never touched him. Because the heavyweight champion of the world is the most prestigious title in sports. Period.
The headline of paper say Jack Johnson is it. They chase this. They made the man act. He had to flee the country. He was living in exile. Couldn't fight anymore. When Muhammad Ali saw Jack Johnson's story on Broadway, he said that is my story. If you change white women to Islam, he said, "That is my story, right?" Yeah.
Jack Johnson just got pardoned in 2005. Do you know who sponsored that bill? John McCain.
Comedian Dave Chappelle spoke on this in 2009, and it's a story many should know. When black Americans were expected to defer to whites, Jack Johnson battered them to the ground.
And at a time when the mere suspicion that a black man had flirted with a white woman could cost him his life, Jack Johnson slept with whomever he pleased. To most whites and to some African-Ameans, Johnson was a perpetual threat, proflegate, arrogant, amoral, a dark menace, and a danger to the natural order of things. Let's also be clear from the greatest Muhammad Ali's own mouth when speaking of Jack Johnson. He said this. Jack Johnson was a black man back when white people lynched negroes on weekends. Every weekend back in 1909 he you wouldn't they would send him letters saying you fighting a white man and if you knock him out we'll kill you. He said just kill my black buckles. I'mma knock this white man cold. and he would knock the white men out and the crew clan would be burning them. They killed negroes all over the country. When Jack Johnson want to fight, they had rats all over South America. It was so serious. And Jack Johnson, his band, he had to be a bad bad black man. Was no black Muslims to defend him. Was no NACP in 1909. Was no rap brown. Was no move. All these black groups was no Andrew Davis, no here Newton, no Malcolm X. He was by himself. Jack Johnson. He was one black man in the midst of all them rednecks would kill rich negroes every day. He was a he dress up in pretty suits. Negroes are allowed dress up days. He put on pretty white neck ties and pretty white and had white women. You know that he married white women. You would get lynched for looking at a white woman in them days. That man married white women and walked around took pictures with white women. Married two of them and they running out of the country because a white woman he left the whole country and fought out of Cuba. He was bad. I know I'm bad, but he was crazy.Jack Johnson was that dude. Let's be clear. All right. First, as Chappelle alluded to, white boxers refused to fight black boxers for the heavyweight championship. It was practically an unwritten rule in the sport. And this practice was dubbed the color line. Thus, Johnson competed against black fighters and only black fighters being crowned what was called at the time world colored champion. He defended the title 17 times. That was until Tommy Burns accepted the challenge and he was dogwalked and about and went 14 rounds only to be stopped because of the beating he took. According to Terresa Runsteadler, a scholar of African-American history at American University. The Burns defeat would disrupt the narrative of white supremacy, and the white media despised seeing this. Writer Jack London called for a great white hope, naming former champion Jim Jeffries to reemerge from his alalfa farm and remove that golden smile from Jack Johnson's face. Jeff, it's up to you. The white man must be rescued. Jeff had been out of boxing for some time at that point, four years as a matter of fact, and many pleaded for his return. Okay, he trained a lot. He was offered a lot of money and thus he too it and he would compete against Jack Johnson.
Jim Jeff is quoted as saying he's fighting to prove that a white man is better than a negro. 20,000 people from all over America have the time and the money to flock to Reno, paying 10 bucks and up, around $240 today. In the 15th round, Jeff is knocked down for the first time in his career. And then put through the ropes before he finally quits. Jack Johnson is victorious. What followed were reports and it would be printed in almost every newspaper across the country of race riots when really that's not entirely accurate when you consider that the press was dominated by racist white folks. Not only at the, you know, writing positions, but also the editing positions and what have you.
Realistically, it was white mobs that went out and attacked black communities where 15 plus people were killed because of these attacks. And it's all becauseJack Johnson showed that, you know, white supremacy is not really a thing that should be believed in after he won and he kept winning over and over and over again. But the white mobs were pits and what they wanted to show once again was dominance over their black neighbors. The fallout would only continue via CNN. The bout was one of the first fights ever to be filmed, meaning that there was a celluloid record for all to watch. However, just days after the fight, many states and cities banned showings of the Johnson vs Jeff film. Thus, if they couldn't get him in the ring, they had to discover different avenues. His romantic involvements with white women. His defiance of societal norms and his unapologetic demeanor all challenged deeply rooted racial prejudices and ignited intense racial animosity, wrote the National Museum of African-American History and Culture. Johnson's relationships with white women, including one with Belle Shriber, a known prostitute who had accompanied him on a journey from Pittsburgh to Chicago, sparked considerable controversy. They conclude in 1912 he faced arrest for violating the man act also known as the white slave traffic act which was a law aimed at combating sex trafficking bcharge was dubious. Authorities disapproved of an African-American man holding the heavyweight title a symbol that represented masculinity at the time. Furthermore, his athletic prowess, dominance over white fights, refusal to abide by Jim Crow etiquette, and relationships with white women all caught up with him. Nevertheless, Johnson stood before an all-white jury who found him guilty and sentenced him to one year and one day in prison. However, rather than accepting his conviction, Johnson fled the country and sought refuge in Europe, South America, and Mexico. Ultimately, in 1920, he voluntarily surrendered to US officials, and he would be incarcerated in Levvenworth Federal Prison. Sadly, Jack Johnson's life came to a tragic close in 1946 when he died in a car crash caused by reckless driving. on the man act. By the way, Yahoo would print. It had never been used as it was against Jack Johnson to go after an individual engaged in consensual and private romantic relationships, even ones that crisscross the country as various white women had while traveling in Johnson's entourage. To put a bow on this, what Dave Chappelle said was obviously comedic in his approach, but also spoton. and the legacy of Jack Johnson.
