The family of boxer Jack Johnson as well as civil rights activists have launched a petition to President Barack Obama to pardon him for the conviction of a Jim Crow segregation-era crime of taking a woman across state lines.
“Here in 2013, this man shouldn’t still be carrying the stigma of being convicted,” Leon Phillips, with the Galveston County Coalition for Justice, told Reuters.
Johnson, who died in 1946, was the first African-American heavyweight boxing champion of the world from 1908 to 1915.
Galveston City Council Member Tarris Woods said, “One hundred and one years ago, this was injustice. One hundred and one years later, he has still not been pardoned.”
Senators John McCain and Harry Reid are also supporting the campaign.
“Johnson’s memory was unjustly tarnished by a racially-motivated criminal conviction, and it is now time to recast his legacy. I am pleased to work with my colleagues in both the Senate and House to formally restore Johnson’s name to the full stature and dignity he deserves,” said Reid in a statement.
McCain added that Congress “can never completely right the wrong perpetrated against Jack Johnson during his lifetime, but this pardon is a small, meaningful step toward acknowledging his mistreatment.”
A petition was launched on Change.org, and needs around 500,000 supporters.
On Thursday, former boxing champion Mike Tyson publicly lent his support for the petition.
“Thanks to @MikeTyson for joining effort to pardon Jack Johnson’s racially-motivated conviction- sign the petition,” McCain tweeted.
