Unforgivable Blackness, The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson: A Film by Ken Burns

This two-part, 3.5-hour film tells the story of the first Black boxer to win the most coveted title in sports, “Heavyweight Champion of the World,” in 1908. The film follows Johnson’s journey from his beginnings in Galveston, Texas, to his entry into the world of professional boxing, and documents his struggle, in and out of the ring, to live his life as a free man in Jim Crow America. Jack Johnson’s story is central to understanding America’s ongoing struggle to deal with the question of race.

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