Charles S. Johnson
| Charles S. Johnson | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Charles Spurgeon Johnson July 24, 1893 Bristol, Virginia, USA |
| Died | October 27, 1956 (aged 63) Louisville, Kentucky, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Sociologist |
| Known for | Civil Rights activism |
Charles Spurgeon Johnson (July 24, 1893 – October 27, 1956) was an American sociologist and college administrator, the first black president of historically black Fisk University, and a lifelong advocate for racial equality and the advancement of civil rights for African Americans and all ethnic minorities. He preferred to work collaboratively with liberal white groups in the South, quietly as a "sideline activist," to get practical results.
His position is often contrasted with that of W. E. B. Du Bois, who was a powerful and militant advocate for blacks and described Johnson as "too conservative." During Johnson's academic studies and leadership of Fisk University during the 1930s and 1940s, the South had legal racial segregation and Jim Crow discriminatory laws and practices, including having disfranchised most black voters in constitutions passed at the turn of the century. Johnson was unwavering in personal terms in his opposition to this oppressive system, yet worked hard to change race relations in terms of short-term practical gains.
His grandson Jeh Johnson served as the United States Secretary of Homeland Security beginning in 2013.
Johnson was born in 1893 in Bristol, Virginia, to well-educated parents. His father was a respected Baptist minister, and his mother was educated in public school. He attended a boarding school in Richmond, Virginia, then earned a B.A. in sociology from Virginia Union University. Afterward, he began graduate study of sociology at the University of Chicago, though his study was interrupted by service in France during World War I as a non-commissioned officer with the US army. After returning to the US, he resumed graduate work at the University of Chicago, where he earned his Ph.D. in sociology. In 1920 Johnson married Marie Antoinette Burgette. As he got appointed as director of research and investigation of the National Urban League the couple moved to New York City.
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