The Galveston Giant
When Galveston County historical preservationist Samuel Collins III gives presentations about local boxing legend Jack Johnson, he likes to offer a modern day reference: the 2018 blockbuster movie Black Panther.
Set in the fantasyland of Wakanda, Black Panther struck a chord with audiences seeking superheroes of African descent. It’s great to champion fictional heroes, Collins says, but everyday heroes also command attention. And Jack Johnson, who in 1908 became the first African American heavyweight champion of the world, transcended Jim Crow discrimination by living life on his own terms, paving the way for activists like Rosa Parks and Muhammad Ali to live more freely.
“Jack Johnson was a real person from a real place called Galveston,” Collins says while standing in his church clothes outside Old Central Cultural Center, formerly Central High School, the
