When Jack Johnson, a negro boxer who was the first generation in his
family since Africa to be born free in the USA was coming up in the
early 1900s there was a dichotomy of viewpoints on how to handle the
issue of race. On one extreme, Booker T Washington felt that blacks
needed to accept their current situation, but do all they could in the
meantime to educate themselves and families for a brighter future. On
the other end, WEB DuBois believed that the only way a change could be
made was by united social protest to enact change. Jack Johnson chose
to act in his life not as if his viewpoint on racism was correct and
others' were not, but as if racism did not exist. It was this
meditation that allowed him privileges and experiences that the
majority of men, not to mention white men, would never know.
When asked why black men love white women so much, Johnson said, "We
eat cold eels and think distant thoughts." Without question, he was
one of the greats.
Current Book Discussion: Appreciate Your Life by Taizan Maezumi Roshi
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