John the Conqueror

John the Conqueror, often referred to as High John the Conqueror, Jack, or Jim, is a legendary deity and folk hero within the African-American spiritual system of Hoodoo who personifies a spirit of resistance and trickery. While written records of his origins are scarce, early accounts of his influence appear in the oral histories of enslaved people and in the 1845 autobiography of Frederick Douglass, marking him as a pivotal figure in the struggle for autonomy. He is most physically associated with the John the Conqueror root, which comes from the Ipomoea purga plant native to the Southeastern United States and is prized by practitioners for its purported magical abilities to bring luck, strength, and protection.

This cultural legacy persisted through the mid-twentieth century as the figure was immortalized in popular music, notably being invoked as Johnny Conqueroo in the blues classics of Muddy Waters and Bo Diddley, where the mention of his root served as a testament to the enduring power of these folk traditions.