If it had been jeanette instead of johnson?

Firstly I think that Langford or McVea were more likley candidated to get to Burns before Johnson but I can see why you have named Jeanette.

I think that his marrying a white woman would still have been an explosive issue to be honest. Perhaps the one issue that no amount of ass kissing on his part would have helped.

I think that his general conduct would have won him a lot of sympathy in the liberal media including the white controled press. Those elements were always there even in the darkest days of Johnsons reign.

Jeanette might actualy have been a devisive figure among white America. He could have opened up a rift between the liberal elements and the trash.

 

Jeannette would have been f*cked over as much as Johnson for 1 key reason

 

If Jeanette had won the title, I think that he would have had one or two easy defences and then he would have been soundly defeated in the first ever all black title challenge by Jack Johnson. In these circumstances, Jack's reign may not have been as controversial as it was initially, and the Black v White angle would have been less prevalent, and perhaps it would mean that Langford and McVey would have gotten a title shot, although i think that Johnson would have still reigned supreme over all. I doubt jeffries would have been enticed out of retirement, but if he did, he may have beaten Jeanette. Certainly he would have had a better chance than against Johnson.

One other interesting aspect to consider is how would the landscape had changed if Jeffries had defeated Johnson.

 

According to a recent documentary about the Jeannette-Mcvey fight Jeannettes marriage did draw criticism. Not necessarily from the press but from whites in general. We must remember that Jeannette was not as public a figure due partly to his demeanor and partly to the fact that he was a black non-champion. Had he been a black champion Im sure he would have drawn more fire from the press but his demeanor would have diffused some of that as well. Put it this way, he would have had a lot more friends that Johnson and would have been looked upon more kindly.

 

We need to stop this naive nonsense about whether a White perceived "Good Negro" would have been treated any differently.NO, NO, NO & NO. Even the most supplicant Blacks were lynched,discriminated against,etc,...in turn of the century America. Peter Jackson(The Black Prince) was thought highly of ,but he was still 'just a Negro' & he never got his Title shot no matter how fondly Whites thought of him.
There was a serious political scandal & OUTRAGE among Whites when the most DOCILE Black leader in the history of America, Booker T Washington, was simply invited the The White House by Theodore Roosevelt (circa 1903?).

JOE JEANETTE would have symbolized to many Whites the same threat to White superioirity that Johnson was. Although it is a MOOT point as it would have not been in Jenette/McVey/Langford's nature to chase Whites like Jefferies & Burns all over America,Europe & Australia for over 5 years like Johnson did. Only Johnson,at the time, was bold enough to even try it & then talented enough to back it up .

Johnson's White wives DIDN"T cause him any "major" trouble per se(besides occasional demeaning mentions in the Papers of the Champ & his White Wives) either until 1912. People simply wrote his many White Wives off as "trash" .
He met a young White Secretary/Prostitute, Lucille Cameron,( whom he eventually married) whose Mother in an attempt to extort money(successfully) from the Champ by accusing him of kidnapping/exploiting/brainwashing her 19 year old angel of a daughter:roll: That was the beginning of Johnson's trouble with White women & his public image took an even worse pounding as this woman used the media to gain public sympathy & a bigger bank account. So not just White women per se ,but the immense scandal the greedy Cameron's mother caused led to his eventual arrest/downfall.