Political Tension Turns Violent in Ellensburg
A racially charged argument over the Jack Johnson vs. James Jeffries heavyweight title fight leads to a shooting.
ELLENSBURG—In a quarrel over the Jeffries-Johnson fight, Ed Henry, who is Black, shot and seriously wounded Sam Howies, who is also Black. Henry, after shooting, walked to Ellensburg and delivered himself to the police. Howies has a white wife, who was a Jeffries partisan. Henry was a Johnson man, and the quarrel originated in the fact that Howies supported his wife's conclusions over the views of the men.
“The quarrel originated in the fact that Howies supported his wife's conclusions over the views of the men.”
This incident illustrates how the 1910 'Fight of the Century' between Jack Johnson and Jim Jeffries transcended sport to become a flashpoint for racial tension across America, including Washington State. The violence here reflects the dangerous atmosphere surrounding Johnson’s victory, which triggered white-supremacist riots in cities across the nation, reminding us that sports arenas have long been battlegrounds for civil rights and racial identity.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.