Papa Jack

Papa Jack For a book that is a must read in class, Papa Jack: Jack Johnson and the Era of White Hopes is a book that really is a must read. I remember hearing the term about giving someone a Jack Johnson, but I never knew where the term came from. For example, they use this saying in Anchorman and now that I know who the saying is about, I find it to be even funnier. Anyway, if you are someone who likes sports or history of sports, then you should read Jack: Jack Johnson and the Era of White Hopes because it gives a description as to how a young African American came to rise to the top at a time where this was unheard of. This is almost like an underdog story, but it turned out that Jack Johnson was the best regardless of this skin color. Jack Johnson was born in Galveston, Texas on March 31, 1878. He was one of seven children born to former slaves. As Johnson grew up in Texas, he soon came to realize that he really did not have much possibility to become famous like he wanted to. Johnson used to be a man that would work dead end jobs such as sweeping floors to loading bales of cotton. Johnson also used to say that he would fight and beat up the neighborhood bully, but Johnson would also fight in battle royals. Battle royals were considered very humiliating because there were six to ten men fighting each other, while blindfolded. The last man standing was then considered the winner. These battle royals were so embarrassing because these battle royals were done in the presence of drunken white men, and these white men would throw coins at the fighters in order to egg the fight on. Eventually, Johnson ended up becoming a local boxer and he would fight against other black fighters. Johnson would make anywhere from $5 a night all the way up to $15 a night for fighting. Johnson was soon starting to gain popularity in the ranks of black fighters. At this same time, a veteran white fighter came to town. This man’s name was Joe Choynski. Choynski was in Galveston and

Bibliography: Roberts, R. (1985). Papa Jack: Jack Johnson and the Era of White Hopes. New York: The Free Press.