Review of The Great White Hope (1970) by Stella D — 15 Feb 2009

Now this is the movie that taught me that I needed to learn about Jack Johnson. James Earl Ray gives a great performance as the first black heavyweight champion. Johnson lived how he wanted to live. States passed laws to break him. But in the ring, he mastered any man put against him.

I love how this movie feels like a stage play. The boxing scenes are well done; they have the look of the sport in Johnson's time. While this is not a bio-pic, it doesn't contain many of the important facts of Johnson's life, the film does portray the drama of Johnson and his times.

It would be many years before black sports stars would challenge racism in the way Johnson did. Stars like Joe Lewis and Jackie Robinson learned that they could not challenge the status quo or they would be attacked like Johnson. In fact, it wasn't until Ali that black men in sport would finally begin to get the full respect that they deserve. But Jack Johnson began the fight for respect, and all black athletes today can thank him for his struggle.