For my week 12 blog post I chose to write on the article “Sparring in the White House: Theodore Roosevelt, Race, and Boxing” by Roberto José Andrade Franco. The article details the hypocrisy of Theodore Roosevelt regarding race and his views on the sport of boxing. It uses it as a microcosm of his stance on the United States. The author begins the article by describing the cultural relevance of boxing and how towards the turn of the century boxing was beginning to be accepted more and more by the upper class as a gentlemanly sport. Noting this acceptance of boxing by the upper classes is crucial to the author showing roosevelts hypocrisy as he shows that Roosevelt was a boxer for most of his young adult life and only stopped after becoming president “Roosevelt explained why he spent less time boxing: “I do but little boxing because it seems rather absurd for a President to appear with a black eye or a swollen nose or a cut lip.” after making clear the general stance on boxing as well as roosevelts views on the sport, the author details the fallout of the fight between black boxer Jack Johnson and white boxer Jim Jeffries in which Johnson won. Following Johnson’s victory, Roosevelt’s views on boxing changed completely, saying “The last contest provoked a very unfortunate display of race antagonism. I sincerely trust that public sentiment will be so aroused, and will make itself felt so effectively, as to guarantee that this is the last prize fight to take place in the United States.” To further prove his argument, the author also quotes well-known black writer and advocate W.E.B. Du Bois” Boxing has fallen into disfavor…The cause is clear: Jack Johnson…Neither he nor his race invented prize fighting or particularly liked it. Why then this thrill of national disgust? Because Johnson is black…Wherefore we conclude that at present prize fighting is very, very immoral … until Mr. Johnson retires or permits himself to be ‘knocked out.” As noted by the author these words by Du Bois would come true and Roosevelt as well as the country would flip back to being in favor of prize as a gentlemanly sport. I feel that this has been one of the most convincing articles that we have read this semester as the author proves with convincing evidence the contradictions of Roosevelt.
