InventorsMy Lord,
What a Morning By Waring CuneyThe
world's first African American heavyweight champion Jack
Johnson defeated James Jeffries, a leading white fighter, who came out of retirement to
try to take the heavyweight championship back from Johnson. Jack Johnson won their
fight on July 4, 1910. News of Jeffries's defeat ignited numerous incidents
of white violence against blacks. However, black poet William Waring Cuney
captured the exuberant African American reaction in his poem, "My Lord,
What a Morning": You can read more about Jack
Johnson's biography.
My Lord,
What a Morning
O my Lord
What a morning,
O my Lord,
What a feeling,
When Jack Johnson
Turned Jim Jeffries'
Snow-white face
to the ceiling.
