Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

“Whole of Scotland” thanks President Trump for heavyweight boxing hero’s pardon

Boxing hero Jack Johnson.
Boxing hero Jack Johnson.

Dundee freemasons have thanked President Donald Trump for a posthumous pardon granted to a heavyweight boxing hero.

Past Master Graham Letford has now written to President Trump to praise him for “this great gesture” on behalf of “the whole of Scotland”.

Donald Trump.

Heavyweight champion Jack Johnson became a freemason in Forfar and Kincardine, No. 225 Lodge, in Dundee, on October 13 1911, whilst visiting England for a fight at Earl’s Court.

During his spell in England he fought in exhibition matches and army officer Sydney McLaglen told Johnson about his masonic lodge during a fight in Newcastle.

He told Johnson he was due to travel to Dundee to have his second degree conferred and asked if it would be possible to go with him and join the lodge.

Mr Letford said: “I wanted to thank President Trump most sincerely for his decision to award a posthumous pardon to Jack Johnson who was the first black heavyweight champion of the world.

“Jack joined the lodge in controversial circumstances in October 1911.

“His membership led to the lodge being closed for 18 months and three of the principal office-bearers being suspended for 18 months and two years respectively for alledgedly bending the rules to allow his admission.

“The rumour of the day he was to be opposed on colour but the above office-bearers brought the meeting forward to thwart any attempt of him being refused admission.


>> Keep up to date with the latest news with The Courier newsletter


“He is and I think will always be our most famous member and I have for many years lectured on the subject of his membership, his life story and the fight to have him pardoned.”

Graham Letford.

Mr Letford said he wanted to thank President Trump “on behalf of the Lodge, the Freemasons of Dundee and indeed the whole of Scotland for this great gesture”.

Johnson claimed the title of “World Coloured Heavyweight Champion” in 1903, before becoming overall World Heavyweight Champion in 1908, after winning a fight in Australia against a white boxer from Canada.

Johnson left by train for Newcastle after the ceremony in Dundee and said he was proud to belong to the craft.

Johnson said: “It’s the greatest thing in the world, it’s wonderful.

“I have always wanted to be a member and I chose the Dundee Lodge because it is one of the oldest and one of the most substantial.”

Johnson concluded by emphatically stating he would certainly go back to Dundee to have his second degree conferred some time in early December.

He was convicted by an all-white jury in 1913 of taking a woman across state lines for “immoral purposes”.

Johnson, whose consensual relationship with a white woman was seen by many at the time as taboo, fled to Europe but returned in 1920 and spent a year in prison.

He returned to the city in a later visit during his spell in exile and was booked for exhibition shows at the King’s Theatre in Dundee where he took the city by storm over a seven day period.

For some years, there was a campaign to get him pardoned but it was not until May that President Donald Trump gave Johnson a posthumous pardon.

Johnson died in a car crash in 1946 at the age of 68.