Posted on 10/16/2009 12:17:13 PM PDT by rabscuttle385
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. John McCain on Friday pressed President Barack Obama to give a posthumous pardon to Jack Johnson, the black heavyweight boxing champion who was imprisoned nearly a century ago because of his romantic ties with a white woman.
McCain, R-Ariz., and Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., noted in a letter to Obama that both houses of Congress this summer passed their resolution urging a pardon. After the vote, the lawmakers wrote to Obama in August asking him to issue the pardon.
"Regrettably, we have not received a response from you or any member of your administration," they wrote in Friday's letter, adding they hoped that Obama would be eager to "right this wrong and erase an act of racism that sent an American citizen to prison."
The White House had no immediate comment.
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Dear John: Please f’ing RETIRE!
Hey McCain gets something right. Bummer is stewpid.
Huh? McCain standing up for Jack Johnson?
Strange that a black member of Congress isn’t doing this.
It’s good to know that Schmuckain is working hard on the critical issues of the day that everyone cares about.
I wonder if McCain realizes that he’s just a tool for Obama.
The world is going to h*ll in a handbasket, and McCain is spending his time on THIS?
Daggone it, this is just not true.
He was prosecuted and convicted for his violation of the Mann Act, which prohibits transportation of women across state lines for immoral purposes. The race of the parties involved had no bearing on the case, legally speaking.
His prosecution was racially and politically motivated, but he was quite indisputably guilty of the crime. Whether it should have been a crime is a whole other question.
Hey Juan McLame.
Quit the GOP!
We’re sick of your pathetic act.
McCain is 3 notches below “sock puppet.”
Was said “immoral purpose” to get married in contravention of anti-miscegenation laws?
Pointing out once again what a useless suck-up he is.
Jimmy Carter's mother had a comment about Howard Cosell, “It's not that I don't like him, I just wish he would go away.”
Same for John...
i like to know, why this wasn’t brought up during bush.
Johnson was a bad ass dude and a real self-made man. He was way ahead of his time. He was no angel but he took alot of racist crap.
Nope. Or not exactly.
He was initially arrested over his relationship with a young white lady, who refused to cooperate and then married him.
He was then prosecuted on similar charges over his previous relationship with a white prostitute who traveled with him.
At the time all sex outside marriage was considered immoral, so when he traveled with these women and had sex with them, he was indisputably breaking the law.
Texas went to the Republicans. Obama won’t pardon Jack Johnson.
True enough.
Interesting that somebody didn’t just shoot the guy.
king obuma is busy planning his escape route.
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