Francys Johnson

Last updated
Francys Johnson
Personal details
Born (1979-06-10) June 10, 1979 (age 45)
Sylvania, Georgia, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Education Georgia Southern University (BA)
University of Georgia (JD)

Francys Johnson (born June 10, 1979) is an American civil rights attorney, pastor and educator. He is in private practice as an attorney in Statesboro, Georgia. He has lectured on constitutional and criminal law, civil rights and race and politics at Savannah State University and Georgia Southern University.

Contents

Long active in the NAACP in Georgia, in 2006 he was appointed as Southeast Region Director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). After the national organization restructured and closed the regional offices, he served as executive director of the Georgia State Conference of the NAACP. On October 5, 2013, he was described as the civil rights organization's youngest President at the 71st Civil Rights Convention in Columbus, Georgia. [1] Johnson is the Convener of Moral Monday Georgia Movement, a multi-issue, multiracial, nonpartisan coalition of organizations aimed at restoring positive morality to public discourse, policy, and politics.

Early life and education

Johnson was born in Sylvania, Georgia, where he attended public schools. Johnson earned an undergraduate degree from Georgia Southern University, a J.D. degree from the University of Georgia School of Law, and a post-doctoral certification in dispute resolution and mediation from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. [2] He was elected to membership in the Pi Sigma Alpha Political Science Honor Society. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. [2]

Johnson served on the faculty of Savannah State University and Georgia Southern University. Professor Johnson has lectured on American Government, Race and the Law, Constitutional and Criminal law. [3]

In March 2005, he chaired an annual conference roundtable discussion at the National Council for Black Studies. Educators from Dillard University, the Algebra Project, and the University of New Orleans discussed "Quality Education as Civil Rights." Johnson is a Partner with Davis Bozeman Johnson Law with offices in Decatur, Savannah, and Statesboro, Georgia. He practices criminal and civil law in all State and Federal Courts in Georgia. [3]

Civil rights

Johnson first became active in the NAACP with community organization activities in Bulloch County, Georgia. [2]

He later served as Legal Redress Director for the Georgia State Conference of the NAACP. During his tenure, the Georgia State Conference NAACP fought successfully in alliance with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) during the 2006 midterm elections to gain a federal court injunction that prevented voter identification legislation from being implemented. [4] The legislation would have required voters without a driver's license to pay to get a new digital picture identification card. Prior to the legislation, 17 types of identification, such as copies of utility bills and other documents without picture identification, were acceptable. Opponents of the legislation argued that it was a violation of the Voting Rights Act and expressed concern that it might have the effect of reducing minority voter participation. Proponents of the legislation argued that the legislation was an attempt to reduce voter fraud. In the 2004 election, as many as 150,000 Georgians used alternative identification to vote. [4]

In 2006, Johnson was appointed as the NAACP Southeast Region Director, a region representing over 60% of the membership of the organization. [2] As regional director, Johnson worked to strengthen the NAACP's legal and political influence in the deep South through the establishment of "Citizen Review Boards". The boards were intended to address incidents of alleged police brutality in Georgia, Tennessee and Florida, to monitor the application of desegregation orders in Georgia, Florida, Mississippi and Alabama, and to mobilize local and regional support for affirmative action.

On behalf of the NAACP Southeast Region, Johnson opposed a bill to establish April as Confederate History and Heritage Month, arguing that the state had never apologized for slavery. The bill passed, in committee, with a unanimous vote. [5] In his opposition to the bill, Johnson stated, "You can't honor the past and not take responsibility for it." [5] Johnson also lobbied to reform Georgia's criminal code, so that its application did not produce racial disparities. One such effort helped overturn the aggravated child molestation conviction of Genarlow Wilson. Genarlow Wilson was 17 years old when he had a sexual encounter with a 15-year-old female. Wilson was convicted of felony aggravated child molestation. He spent two years behind bars before Georgia changed its law regarding teenage sex. Wilson was initially ordered released. However, the order was stayed after a challenge from the state attorney general. Numerous civil rights groups argued for Wilson's release. Johnson, on behalf of the NAACP said: "[We are] convinced that justice has taken a summer vacation in Georgia.". [6] Ultimately, the Georgia Supreme Court ordered Generlow Wilson released.

After the President and CEO Bruce S. Gordon resigned, the NAACP announced on June 1, 2007, it would restructure, closing the regional offices to emphasize roles of the state conferences. Johnson was appointed as executive director of the Georgia State Conference. [2]

On October 5, 2013, at the 71st annual NAACP Georgia State Convention and Civil Rights Conference in Columbus, Johnson was designated as the organization's next president. He becomes the group's first new president in eight years and the youngest in its history. Johnson succeeded outgoing state President Edward Dubose. [7]

"Folks sometimes are confused about the NAACP; they think the NAACP deals only in black and white issues. That is certainly not the case. We deal in red, white and blue issues - American issues" Johnson said. "Our real work is to make sure that the Constitution and laws of these United States are equitably applied to every citizen - to make real the promise of America's democracy. The issues that I'm focused on are issues that all Georgians should be concerned about." [7]

In a news release issued by the NAACP, Leon Russell, the vice chairman of the organization's Board of Directors, said: "You can't look at young folks and say you're going to be the leaders of the future. You have to give them the opportunity to lead now, and that's what the NAACP believes. (Johnson) walks in the footsteps of the greats, including Savannah's Ralph Mark Gilbert and W.W. Law; Macon's Julius Caesar Hope; and Madison's Walter Curtis Butler. As a scholar, a practitioner of law, and a dynamic young leader, I am confident that the bar of excellence will be raised and more young professionals will be attracted to the work of the NAACP." [7]

As president, Johnson worked across partisan lines on criminal justice reform including sentencing, probation and parole, and banning the box in state employment. At the same time, he sparred with Republican Nathan Deal over a lack of diversity in judicial picks for Georgia's courts and the State's failure to expand medicaid. He was leading critic of Georgia's failed charter school amendment to the State Constitution that many believed would have turned public schools over to for-profit corporations. He co-convened Georgia's Moral Monday Movement, a group launched after William Barber's state-based movement in North Carolina, with Tim Franzen, American Friends Service Committee, State Senator Vincent Fort and Rev. Dr. Raphael Warnock, Senior Pastor of Ebeneezer Baptist Church. The group launched teach-ins, public demonstrations and led more than 72 clergy and other citizens in acts of civil disobedience to dramatize a swath of what many believed was a right-winged ALEC inspired agenda that included the state's failure to expand medicaid, draconian drug laws, discriminatory stances toward the GBLTQ community and "Stand Your Ground" legislation. [8]

Johnson stepped down from his post on July 23, 2017, and was immediately rumored as a possible challenger to Congressman Rick Allen (R-Augusta) in the 2018 midterms eventually deciding to run for the seat. He won the Democratic nomination but lost to Allen in the general election. During Johnson's tenure the Georgia NAACP filed 10 federal and state lawsuits addressing redistricting and voting rights. Johnson is credited with restoring the voting rights litigation prowess of NAACP in Georgia while attracting younger professionals and bridging the gaps in Georgia between millennial activists groups such as Black Lives Matter. [8]

"Francys Johnson lent his talent, time and treasure to the Association at a critical time. I don't think we've seen the last of his leadership," said Derrick Johnson, newly appointed interim president and CEO. [9]

"He was as comfortable leading the powerful demonstrations across Georgia in response to police-involved deaths of citizens and the Atlanta March for Women and Social Justice, the largest protest march in Georgia history at 63,000 protesters, as he was giving an argument in court or sermon in the pulpit," said the Rev. Raphael Warnock of Ebenezer Baptist Church. "That takes a rare combination of talents." [9]

Johnson was named to succeed Stacey Abrams and Raphael Warnock as head of The New Georgia Project, a transformational civic engagement organization responsible for defeating voter suppression and advancing progressive values in the public policy. [10] On October 8, 2024, Capital B published an investigative report placing responsibility for the organization's decline on Johnson's interference in day-to-day operations and neglectful governance.

Religious leader

Johnson became an ordained minister in the Baptist Church in the late 1990s. He is the ninth pastor of Mount Moriah Baptist Church in Pembroke, Georgia and the thirteenth pastor Magnolia Missionary Baptist Church of Statesboro, Georgia. Before becoming director of the Southeast Region of the NAACP, he had been named an "Emerging Leader" by the National Religious Leadership Summit. [2]

Marriage and family

Johnson married Meca Renee Williams, Ph.D. They have three sons together, Thurgood Joshua Johnson, Langston Hughes Elijah Johnson, and Frederick Douglass Caleb Johnson. [11]

Legacy and honors

Johnson was inducted into the John F. Nolen, Jr. Hall of Leaders for Excellence in Service & Leadership at Georgia Southern University. [2] Johnson was employed by the American Heart and Stroke Association as the vice president of Cultural Health Initiatives. While there, Johnson worked to develop strategies to overcome racial, ethnic and gender health disparities and to strengthen diversity within the organization's operations.

Johnson has lectured and written on the subject of race, measuring equity, and understanding the power of public policy. He has served on the Political Science and Criminal Justice faculties at Georgia Southern University and Savannah State University. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Screven County, Georgia</span> County in Georgia, United States

Screven County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,067. The county seat is Sylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statesboro, Georgia</span> City in Georgia, United States

Statesboro is the most populous city in and county seat of Bulloch County, Georgia, United States. Located in the southeastern part of the state, its population was 33,438 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Statesboro micropolitan area, which had 81,099 residents, and is part of the Savannah–Hinesville–Statesboro combined statistical area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sylvania, Georgia</span> City in Georgia, United States

Sylvania is a city in and the county seat of Screven County, Georgia, United States. The population was 2,634 in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Christian Leadership Conference</span> African-American civil rights organization

The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is an African-American civil rights organization based in Atlanta, Georgia. SCLC is closely associated with its first president, Martin Luther King Jr., who had a large role in the American civil rights movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julian Bond</span> American politician and activist (1940–2015)

Horace Julian Bond was an American social activist, leader of the civil rights movement, politician, professor, and writer. While he was a student at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, during the early 1960s, he helped establish the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). In 1971, he co-founded the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama, and served as its first president for nearly a decade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund</span> Organization in New York, United States

The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. is an American civil rights organization and law firm based in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benjamin Hooks</span> American civil rights leader and minister

Benjamin Lawson Hooks was an American civil rights leader and government official. A Baptist minister and practicing attorney, he served as executive director of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) from 1977 to 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frankie Muse Freeman</span> American lawyer

Marie Frankie Muse Freeman was an American civil rights attorney, and the first woman to be appointed to the United States Commission on Civil Rights (1964–79), a federal fact-finding body that investigates complaints alleging discrimination. Freeman was instrumental in creating the Citizens' Commission on Civil Rights founded in 1982. She was a practicing attorney in State and Federal courts for nearly sixty years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia Alliance of African American Attorneys</span>

The Georgia Alliance of African American Attorneys (GAAAA) is a minority bar association in the state of Georgia in the United States. Founded in 1992, the GAAAA was created as a result of the legal case of Tyrone Brooks, et al., v. Georgia State Board of Elections and Max Cleland, Secretary of State and Chairman of the Georgia State Board of Elections. The State of was accused of not having enough diversity in judges. The litigation resulted in Georgia having the second-largest number of African American judges in any American state—second only to the state of Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NAACP</span> Civil rights organization in the United States

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du Bois, Mary White Ovington, Moorfield Storey, Ida B. Wells, Lillian Wald, and Henry Moskowitz. Over the years, leaders of the organization have included Thurgood Marshall and Roy Wilkins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NAACP New Orleans Branch</span> Oldest continuously active branch of the NAACP

The New Orleans Branch is the oldest continuously active branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People south of Washington D.C. It was formally chartered on July 15, 1915. However, prior to that time, there had been organizational efforts underway to affiliate with this new national civil rights organization which had first organized in New York City in 1909. In 1911, Emanuel M. Dunn, Paul Landix Sr. and James E. Gayle wrote to the NAACP national office to obtain more information about this "new abolition movement." Apparently, the locals did not wait for formal action from the national office, but proceeded to organize without official sanction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cornell William Brooks</span> American activist and lawyer

Cornell William Brooks is an American lawyer and activist. He was chosen to be the president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in May 2014. He previously served as president of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice in Newark, New Jersey, and as executive director of the Fair Housing Council of Greater Washington.

This is a timeline of the civil rights movement in the United States, a nonviolent mid-20th century freedom movement to gain legal equality and the enforcement of constitutional rights for people of color. The goals of the movement included securing equal protection under the law, ending legally institutionalized racial discrimination, and gaining equal access to public facilities, education reform, fair housing, and the ability to vote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Butler R. Wilson</span> American attorney

Butler Roland Wilson (1861–1939) was an attorney, civil rights activist, and humanitarian based in Boston, Massachusetts. Born in Georgia, he came to Boston for law school and lived there for the remainder of his life. For over fifty years, he worked to combat racial discrimination in Massachusetts. He was one of the first African-American members of the American Bar Association. Wilson was a founding member and president of the Boston branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Fair Fight Action is an American political organization founded in 2018 by Stacey Abrams to address voter suppression in Georgia and across the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raphael Warnock</span> American pastor and politician (born 1969)

Raphael Gamaliel Warnock is an American Baptist pastor and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Georgia since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Warnock has been the senior pastor of Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church since 2005.

On August 7, 2020, Julian Edward Roosevelt Lewis, an unarmed 60-year-old American carpenter, was fatally shot by Georgia State Patrol officer Jacob Gordon Thompson, on a rural road in Screven County, Georgia. Thompson attempted to stop Lewis for driving a vehicle with a broken tail light. When Lewis failed to stop, Thompson performed a PIT maneuver to force Lewis's car into a ditch and shot Lewis once in the face. On August 14, Thompson was charged with felony murder.

The Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum is a museum in Savannah, Georgia, United States. Named after Ralph Mark Gilbert, the museum traces the history of the African American community in the city, from slavery to the present day, with an emphasis on the civil rights movement.

James Woodall is an American Baptist minister, politician and activist. Woodall is the former President of the Georgia NAACP.

The Savannah Protest Movement was an American campaign led by civil rights activists to bring an end to the system of racial segregation in Savannah, Georgia. The movement began in 1960 and ended in 1963.

References

  1. ↑ Write, Ben (October 5, 2013). "Statesboro attorney elected president Georgia State Conference NAACP". Ledger Enquirer. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 NAACP "NAACP Names Rev. Dr. Francys Johnson Southeast Region Director Archived 2011-07-07 at the Wayback Machine , 2007
  3. 1 2 "Sylvania native plans run for U.S. Congress". Sylvania Telephone. 26 January 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  4. 1 2 Darryl. "Voter ID Law Is Overturned" [ dead link ], Washington Post, 28 October 2005
  5. 1 2 Sonji Jacobs, "LEGISLATURE 2007: NAACP calls Confederate bill offensive Panel OKs measure with unanimous vote" Archived 2013-12-02 at the Wayback Machine , Atlanta Journal Constitution, 16 March 2007, p. D1
  6. ↑ Wilson v. State, 652 S.E. 2d 501, 282 Ga. 520 (2007)
  7. 1 2 3 "Attorney Francys Johnson to lead Georgia oldest and largest Civil and Human Rights Group". The AmericusSumter Observer. 7 September 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  8. 1 2 "Georgia NAACP President Francys Johnson steps down". Savannah Morning News. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  9. 1 2 Suggs, Ernie (23 July 2017). "Georgia NAACP president steps down with an eye toward politics". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
  10. ↑ "The New Georgia Project is a Nonpartisan Effort to Register and Civically Engage Georgians". newgeorgiaproject.org. The New Georgia Project. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  11. ↑ Johnson, Francys. "State President". GA NAACP. NAACP. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  12. ↑ Johnson, Francys. "State President". GA NAACP. NAACP. Retrieved 24 February 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.