Black Foreigners in a White World: The Unacceptability of Jack Johnson and Mike Tyson

Authors:

Pages: 171-179
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54664/GGAR8301

Abstract:

Despite the abolition of slavery in the nineteenth century and numerous anti-racist campaigns in the 1960s, the view that blacks and whites do not belong together is still wide-spread in US-American society. A considerable number of people still assume that a “typical” American is someone who is, among other things, of white racial heritage. A look at past history reveals that even though people of darker skin colors had been part of American society for several centuries by the time of the Civil War, they were still perceived as a threat to society, order and lawfulness. Political and legal theorist Bonnie Honig traces different “scripts” through which the acceptance and negotiation of foreignness has been acted out in the context of American democracy. In my analysis, I make use of some of her insights to understand the position of blacks following the Civil War, especially in view of the powerful and long-standing resistance against racial mixture on all levels of social life. I focus attention on the legal and social backlash against two black boxers, Jack Johnson and Mike Tyson, who disregarded and often openly challenged racial boundaries, both in the sports arena and in their personal lives.

Keywords:

foreignness, democracy, blacks, intermarriage, separateness

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