Johnson, John J.
(born: February 10, 1945)John J. Johnson became the youngest NAACP chapter president in Kentucky at the age of 17. During his tenure, the Franklin (KY) Chapter of the NAACP prevented the town of Franklin from employing the former chief of police from Philadelphia, MS, where three civil rights workers were murdered.
Johnson was state president of the NAACP for 14 years, leaving Kentucky to join the national NAACP office. John Johnson Street in Franklin is named in his honor.
Johnson, born in Louisville, KY, grew up in Franklin and later lived in Baltimore, MD. In 2007, Johnson became the executive director of the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights.
For more information, see Hall of Fame 2005 on the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights website; the John J. Johnson Biography at the HistoryMakers website; KET's "Connections with Renee Shaw" - #312; and listen to the Interview with John J. Johnson, 6/18/2013, at the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History website.
