Final answer:
' as Jack Johnson's boxing victories led to shocked reactions, dismissiveness, and racial violence among whites who were uncomfortable with his challenge to racial norms and white supremacy.
Step-by-step explanation:
Jack Johnson's victories as a fighter elicited a complex range of responses from white Americans during the early 20th century. Many white Americans felt a combination of shock, dismissal, and anger towards Johnson's successes, which in some cases led to racially motivated violence.
Johnson, the first African American heavyweight champion, faced discrimination and hostility, often intensified by his defiance of racial barriers and his relationship with white women. His victory against Jim Jeffries in 1910 was particularly controversial, triggering a series of racial violence incidents across the country. Whites expected black athletes to exhibit humility, but Johnson was unapologetically bold and flaunted his wealth, challenging societal norms and stoking racial tensions.
In the aftermath of Johnson's victories, some whites engaged in extreme acts of violence as a way to reassert white supremacy. This violence was not isolated to individuals; it reflected widespread resistance to the social changes evidenced by Johnson's rise in the sporting world. Johnson's determination in the ring and in his personal life made him a symbol of the struggle for civil rights and racial equality, which unnerved many in a society still deeply divided by race.