Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson

The biography of heavyweight US boxing champ Jack Johnson, a Black sports celebrity who came out of poverty in the Jim Crow South to gain fame and fortune in the first half of the 20th century. He reveled in his riches, determined to do exactly what he wanted and live as though racism didn't exist. But it did, and no less than the federal government set out to end his career, sending him to prison and then exiling him. This intense biography vividly shows Johnson's larger-than-life personality and the historical forces he fought—often successfully—against. Dense and meticulously researched, with archival photos.

(This book may contain a small, black sharpie mark on the bottom edge, so that it can't be returned to a different wholesaler.)