14 May — Jack Johnson is convicted in Chicago of violating the 1910 Mann Act and is subsequently sentenced to a term of imprisonment of one year and one day plus a fine of $1,000. In June, while still free with an appeal pending, Johnson flees the United States and does not return until July 1920. Johnson is the first person to be prosecuted under the Act, which prohibits so-called white slavery including the interstate transport of females for "immoral purposes". Johnson has had affairs with white prostitutes who have travelled with him to other states. In Johnson's case, it is held that the authorities are using the Act's ambiguous language to justify a selective prosecution which amounts to harassment, based on their desire to deprive him of his title for racist reasons. Johnson retains the title for another two years.
