Charles S. Johnson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Charles S. Johnson
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| Born |
Charles Spurgeon Johnson
July 24, 1893 Bristol, Virginia, USA
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| Died | October 27, 1956 (aged 63) Louisville, Kentucky, USA
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| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Sociologist |
| Known for | Civil Rights activism |
Charles Spurgeon Johnson (born July 24, 1893 – died October 27, 1956) was an American sociologist. A sociologist studies how people live together in groups and societies. Charles Johnson was also a college leader. He was the first black president of Fisk University, which is a historically black college.
He spent his life working for civil rights and equality for African Americans and all minority groups. He often worked with white groups in the South. He preferred to work quietly to get real results. Some people called him a "sideline activist" because of this.
His way of working was different from W. E. B. Du Bois. Du Bois was a strong and outspoken leader for black people. He thought Johnson was "too conservative." During Johnson's time at Fisk University in the 1930s and 1940s, the South had legal racial segregation. This meant black and white people were kept separate by law. There were also Jim Crow laws, which were unfair rules that discriminated against black people. Many black voters were also stopped from voting.
Charles Johnson was always against this unfair system. But he worked hard to make small, practical changes in race relations. His goal was to improve things step by step.
His grandson, Jeh Johnson, later became the United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2013 to 2017.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Charles Johnson was born in 1893 in Bristol, Virginia. His parents were well-educated. His father was a respected Baptist minister. His mother went to public school.
He went to a boarding school in Richmond. Then he earned a bachelor's degree in sociology from Virginia Union University. After that, he started studying sociology at the University of Chicago.
His studies were stopped when he served in France during World War I. He was a non-commissioned officer in the US army. After the war, he went back to the University of Chicago. There, he earned his Ph.D. in sociology.
In 1920, Johnson married Marie Antoinette Burgette. They moved to New York City when he became a research director.
Career Highlights
After a race riot in 1919, Charles Johnson worked as a researcher. This riot was part of a violent period called Red Summer. In 1921, he became the research director for the National Urban League.
While at the National Urban League, he started a magazine called Opportunity. This magazine was a place for black artists to share their work. He also helped write an important report about the Chicago riot. This report showed how African Americans were fighting against unfair opportunities. His work led to The Negro in Chicago: A Study of Race Relations and a Race Riot (1922). This book became a classic example for other reports.
Supporting the Harlem Renaissance
In the 1920s, Johnson moved to New York City. He became a key figure in the Harlem Renaissance. This was a time when many African-American writers and artists created amazing works.
He edited two journals that published many writers of that time. He also created awards to help young writers. In Harlem, he encouraged black artists to use their own experiences in their art. He believed this would help improve how black people saw themselves.
Returning to the South
Charles Johnson wanted to go back to the South. He wanted to study race relations and help change them. In 1926, he moved to Nashville. He became the head of the Sociology Department at Fisk University.
At Fisk, he led many studies. These studies looked at how laws, money, and society created an unfair system for black people. Two of his famous books are Shadow of the Plantation (1934) and Growing up in the Black Belt (1940). These books showed what life was like for black people in the rural South.
International Work
In 1929, a missionary reported that officials in Liberia were forcing tribal people to work. The Liberian government denied this. They invited a League of Nations group to investigate. Charles Johnson was the United States representative on this group.
The group found that workers were being forced into labor. This was almost like slave trading. Because of this report, Liberia's President and Vice-President resigned.
In 1930, Johnson won an award for his book The Negro in American Civilization. During World War II, he studied how race relations changed in cities. He looked at how white people tried to keep their power, especially in schools, jobs, and housing. He wrote a study about San Francisco's African American community. It showed the unfair treatment throughout the city.
Leading Fisk University
In 1946, Charles Johnson became the first black president of Fisk University. He brought many talented teachers to the university. These included famous writers like Arna Bontemps and artists like Aaron Douglas.
In 1946, Johnson was one of 20 American educators chosen to help Japan. They advised on how to improve education there after the war. He also advised the White House on youth issues. He was a member of the first board for the Fulbright Program. This program helps students study in other countries.
Johnson lived to see the important Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education (1954). This ruling said that separating races in public schools was against the law. He played a big part in making sure this decision was put into action. This was hard because many people in the South strongly resisted it. His work also helped lead to new civil rights laws in the 1960s.
He was a member of the Alpha Phi Alpha and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia fraternities.
Charles Johnson died suddenly in 1956. He was traveling by train when he had a heart attack in Louisville, Kentucky. He was 63 years old.
Notable Works
Charles Johnson edited two important publications:
- Editor, Opportunity: A Journal of Negro Life, the official magazine of the National Urban League
- Editor, Ebony and Topaz, 1928
His academic books include:
- The Negro in American Civilization (1930)
- The Collapse of Cotton Tenancy (1935)
- The Negro War Worker in San Francisco (1944)
- Shadow of the Plantation (1934)
- Growing Up in the Black Belt (1941)
- The Negro College Graduate (1969)
- Education and the Cultural Process (1970)
