December 1908

Jack Johnson defeated Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia to become the first Black heavyweight champion of the world, a victory that sparked riots from white supremacists seeking a Great White Hope to reclaim the title. Johnson's reign and his refusal to be submissive in public made him the most feared and celebrated Black man in America.

Jack Johnson defeated Tommy Burns in Sydney, Australia, in a brutal 14-round fight to become the first Black world heavyweight boxing champion, shattering one of white supremacy's most heavily guarded sporting barriers.

John Baxter Taylor Jr., who had won Olympic gold at the London Games just months earlier, died of typhoid fever at age 26, cutting short a brilliant athletic career celebrated across Black America.