But in 1908, 39 years before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in major league baseball, there was Jack Johnson ... not for the fact Johnson was the most dominant boxer of his time.

Learn about three other great African-American boxers in the early 20th Century. Sign up to get updates about the film and future projects from Ken Burns and Florentine Films.

One of the nation’s first celebrity athletes, Jack Johnson also provided a rough foreshadowing of the political theories of a 42-year-old educator from Great Barrington, Massachusetts ...

But in 1908, 39 years before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in major league baseball, there was Jack Johnson ... not for the fact Johnson was the most dominant boxer of his time.

When African American Jack Johnson took the heavyweight title from the Irish boxer Tommy Burns ... and awaited the "Great White Hope" who would claim boxing honors for their own race.

The sports world is mourning after the death of an all-time great this week ... getting to know him not only as a boxer but as a man.… — Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) March 22, 2025 ...