He was described by his son as the "most perfect physical specimen that he had ever seen", although Henry had been left with an atrophied right leg from his service in the war.
His father had served as a civilian teamster of the Union's 38th Colored Infantry. Johnson was born on March 31, 1878, the third child of nine born to Henry and Tina Johnson, formerly enslaved persons who worked service jobs as a janitor and a dishwasher. On May 24, 2018, Johnson was formally pardoned by U.S. He is buried at Graceland Cemetery in Chicago. He died in a car crash on June 10, 1946, at the age of 68. Johnson continued taking paying fights for many years, and operated several other businesses, including lucrative endorsement deals. Sentenced to a year in prison, Johnson fled the country and fought boxing matches abroad for seven years until 1920 when he served his sentence at the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth.
Johnson was arrested on charges of violating the Mann Act-forbidding one to transport a woman across state lines for "immoral purposes"-a racially motivated charge that embroiled him in controversy for his relationships, including marriages, with white women. Major newspapers of the time soon claimed that Johnson was attacked by the government only after he became famous as a black man married to a white woman, and was linked to other white women. In 1912, Johnson opened a successful and luxurious "black and tan" ( desegregated) restaurant and nightclub, which in part was run by his wife, a white woman. Transcending boxing, he became part of the culture and history of racism in the United States. According to filmmaker Ken Burns, "for more than thirteen years, Jack Johnson was the most famous and the most notorious African-American on Earth". Jeffries was dubbed the "fight of the century". Widely regarded as one of the most influential boxers of all time, his 1910 fight against James J. Still, who would want to quibble with Ms Ross?Īt First Direct Arena, Leeds, tonight, then touring the UK until 1 July.John Arthur Johnson (Ma– June 10, 1946), nicknamed the " Galveston Giant", was an American boxer who, at the height of the Jim Crow era, became the first African-American world heavyweight boxing champion (1908–1915). It’s a lovely, rarely heard song although a slightly low-key note on which to end a mostly stellar performance. She ends sat on a chair as fan requests result in the seemingly unscripted The Boss, then Home, from 1978 film The Wiz. She sings I’m Still Waiting beautifully reflectively, and if her voice falters during Theme from Mahogany (Do You Know Where You’re Going To) it soars through Ain’t No Mountain High Enough. Still, maybe an audience can only take so many Ross classics before requiring oxygen. In truth, it would have been nicer to hear Touch Me in the Morning, Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand) or Reflections rather than the covers of hits by Frankie Lymon (Why Do Fools Fall in Love) and Gloria Gaynor (an overlong but appropriate I Will Survive). She reveals that during Covid isolation she feared she’d never perform again, so cheered herself by penning If the World Just Danced, an unexpected highlight which sees her turn into a house music diva. Thereafter it’s on to her solo career, and highlights such as 1985 Bee Gees-penned No 1 Chain Reaction and 1976’s Love Hangover, a trip to disco heaven.
Stop! In the Name of Love et al are some of the greatest pop singles ever made, and to hear them sounding exactly as they should almost 60 years later is a pinch-yourself moment. She brings an exquisite touch of hurt to My World Is Empty Without You and smiles as the audience accompany the famous “Ooh, ooh” beginning of Baby Love. The setlist begins with another Chic-penned smash, I’m Coming Out, in its twin role as perfect entrance song and LGBTQ+ anthem, before she rolls back the years with a string of Supremes classics.