Leroy Johnson oral history interview, October 17, 1991

Item — othertype: Oral History

Identifier: JohnsonL_19911017_P1991-02

Staff Only

Leroy Johnson oral history interview

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Scope and Contents

Interviewed by Cliff Kuhn. Among topics discussed: Early life; Washington High School; C.L. Harper; teacher's pay; Butler Street YMCA; black churches; Ebenezer Baptist Church; Dr. Martin Luther King, Sr.; Dr. William Holmes Borders; segregation; Dr. Benjamin Mays; the Fox Theater; life at Morehouse College; early political involvement; Atlanta Negro Voters League; voting classes; "All Citizens Voting Drive"; desegregation of the Atlanta police force; early career in education; Tuskegee, Alabama; A.T. Walden; career in the solicitor generals office; Fulton County courthouse; campaign for state Senate; county unit system; reapportionment; Johnson's first term in the Senate; reaction of other senators; desegregation of the state cafeteria; state capitol water fountains; politics and desegregation; the power of vote; bills sponsored by Johnson; Georgia Association of Democratic Clubs; perceptions of political power; Roscoe Dean; Carl Sanders; Peter Zack Geer; Lester Maddox; Maddox and Jimmy Carter's fight to control Senate committees; permanent alliances and permanent interests; changes in Atlanta; what needs to be done.

Dates

Creation: October 17, 1991

Creator

Johnson, Leroy, 1928- (Interviewee, Person)

Restrictions on Access

Oral history available for research.

Biographical Note

Leroy Johnson (1928-), from Atlanta, served in the Georgia Senate from 1963‑1975, and was the first African American state senator in Georgia since Reconstruction.