Unforgivable Blackness

The other day I was going through Sports Illustrated’s Greatest American Boxing Movies (ignoring each film made before 1950 because the only people who watch those are homosexuals and women that don’t get laid) when, at #8, I came upon a title so fantastic that I knew right then and there I had to watch it: Unforgivable Blackness: The Rise and Fall of Jack Johnson.


It sounds like a Mos Def concept album, doesn’t it? Before watching this film, I knew nothing about Jack Johnson other than, in Anchorman, Will Ferrell threatens my favorite actor by shouting “If you want to throw down fisticuffs, fine: I’ve got Jack Johnson and Tom O’Leary waiting for ya right here!” And you know what? Had it not been for the documentary’s title, I’d have been fine with my ignorance of the man. But the words “unforgivable blackness” combined with the fact Ken Burns directed the film (and a run time of over three hours, meaning I could sloth away the rest of the evening) sealed the deal. Let me tell you, it was a night well spent (by my standards, at least.)

Narrated by Keith David with Samuel L. Jackson providing the voice of Jack Johnson, this movie is the blackest thing since the back of Yaphet Kotto’s neck. Jack’s story sounds like that of a successful rapper: He spends money as fast as he makes it, has his front teeth outfitted with gold caps and crushes white ass left and right. He’s also a deeply profound man, whose words sound like those of some ancient warrior king (think Conan the Barbarian minus the Austrian accent). To live the way he did during Jim Crow must have taken balls the size of grapefruits. (Were you expecting me to say watermelons? Bastard.)


The most fascinating aspect of the film (not to mention source of countless sound clips for my radio show) were the multiple quotes from respected publications of the era that wouldn’t have sounded out of place coming out of Vernon Schillinger‘s mouth. Time and time again the viewer is read various passages about the “inferiority of the negro,” expecting the words to be attributed to the Ku Klux Klan, only to learn they were actually culled from the pages of the Los Angeles Times or written by Jack London (I guess we know why it’s White Fang). To learn the extent of the racism that existed not even a century ago was definitely eye-opening. Far more so than that very special episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.


If you have Netflix, you can stream Unforgivable Blackness here. If you don’t, just stare at a photo of Jack Johnson as a white guy reads you rap lyrics for three hours, making sure he uses the “er” ending on that magic word, not an “a.” The result is comparable.

Tagged as: Movie Review.