Jack johnson family photos

During the summer of 1912, the man who at the height of the Jim Crow era had become less than four years previously the first black world heavyweight boxing champion, opened Cafe de Champion – a “Black and Tan” restaurant and nightclub in the Bronzeville district of Chicago.The club was decorated in an ostentatiously luxurious style and featuring electric fans to cool the interior, said to be some of the first in the city.

Johnson’s wife Etta ran the sophisticated restaurant downstairs where the waiters all wore white gloves while the music and dancing took place in the ‘Pompeiian Room’ decorated in a Roman style.

The top floor of the three storey building became the Johnsons’ apartment and it was where Etta, after two previous attempts, took her own life in September 1912.She shot herself in the head while the partying took place below.

The 33 year old former Brooklyn society woman had a history of depression but any mental problems could