Trump considering pardon of Jack Johnson after call from Sylvester Stallone
President Donald Trump is considering a posthumous pardon of Jack Johnson, the first African-American heavyweight boxing champion, at the request of Sylvester Stallone.
Trump tweeted Saturday that the "Rocky" actor called him to share Johnson's story, adding that the fighter's "trials and tribulations were great, his life complex and controversial."
Sylvester Stallone called me with the story of heavyweight boxing champion Jack Johnson. His trials and tribulations were great, his life complex and controversial. Others have looked at this over the years, most thought it would be done, but yes, I am considering a Full Pardon!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 21, 2018
In 1913, Johnson was convicted of violating the Mann Act, which made it illegal to transport women across state lines for "immoral" purposes. He was sentenced to one year and a day in prison.
Johnson's great-great niece, Linda Haywood, has been pressing for a pardon since George W. Bush was in office.
"(Family) didn't talk about it because they were ashamed of him, that he went to prison," Haywood told Kareem Copland of the Los Angeles Times in January. "They were led to believe that he did something wrong. They were so ashamed after being so proud of him. The white man came and told them that he did something wrong, he did something dirty, and they painted him out to be something that he wasn't."
Johnson died in a car crash in 1946 at the age of 68.