Fan Casting John Johnson in The Galveston Giant: The Jack Johnson Story

John Arthur Johnson, nicknamed the "Galveston Giant", was an American boxer who became the first black world heavyweight boxing champion at the height of the Jim Crow era (1908–1915). His 1910 fight against James J. Jeffries was dubbed the "fight of the century". Johnson defeated Jeffries, who was white, triggering dozens of race riots across the U.S. According to filmmaker Ken Burns, "For more than thirteen years, Jack Johnson was the most famous and the most notorious African American on Earth". He is widely regarded as one of the most influential boxers in history. Transcending boxing, he became part of the culture and history of racism in the United States.