Johnson, Lyman T., 1906-1997

Authoritative Name:
Johnson, Lyman T., 1906-1997
Biography:
Lyman Tefft Johnson is best known as the plaintiff whose successful legal challenge opened the University of Kentucky to African American students in 1949. But by the time of that lawsuit, he had already been teaching at Louisville's Central High School for 16 years, having earned a master's degree in history from the University of Michigan in 1931, and was a local leader in the fight to equalize the pay of black and white teachers. Johnson continued teaching at Central until 1966, then spent another seven years in the Jefferson County Public Schools as an assistant principal at several schools. Along the way, he also continued his civil rights work. Always outspoken in denouncing discrimination, he led struggles to integrate neighborhoods, swimming pools, schools, and restaurants and headed the Louisville chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for six years. Lyman T. Johnson Middle School was named in his honor in 1980. Born in 1906 in Columbia, Tennessee, Johnson was the grandson of former slaves. He died in Louisville in 1997. ("Lyman T. Johnson ," Living the Story: The Civil Rights Movement in Kentucky WWW site, retrieved March 14, 2008.)
Associated Subjects:
Johnson, Lyman T., 1906-1997
Johnson, Lyman T., 1906-1997--Interviews
Archival Collections And Reference Resources:

7 items in 3 collections (expand all)

Oral history interview with Charles H. Parrish, Jr.

Creator:
Parrish, Charles Henry, 1899-
Cox, Dwayne, 1950-
Morison, William James, 1943-
Date of Original:
1976
Collection:
African American Oral History Collection
Contributing Institution:
University of Louisville. Libraries. Archives and Special Collections

Oral history interview with Lyman T. Johnson

Creator:
Johnson, Lyman T., 1906-1997
Cox, Dwayne, 1950-
Date of Original:
1982-03-24
Collection:
African American Oral History Collection
Contributing Institution:
University of Louisville. Libraries. Archives and Special Collections

Interview with Anne Braden, March 8 and 9, 1989

Creator:
Braden, Anne, 1924-2006
Date of Original:
1989-03-08/1989-03-09
Collection:
Anne Braden Oral History Project
Contributing Institution:
University of Kentucky

Interview with Eric Tachau and Mary Tachau, November 11, 1989

Creator:
Tachau, Eric, 1924-2002
Date of Original:
1989-11-11
Collection:
Anne Braden Oral History Project
Contributing Institution:
University of Kentucky

Interview with George Yater and Marjorie Yater, December 11, 1997

Creator:
Yater, George H.
Date of Original:
1997-12-11
Collection:
Anne Braden Oral History Project
Contributing Institution:
University of Kentucky

Interview with Lyman T. Johnson, June 24, 1991

Creator:
Johnson, Lyman T., 1906-1997
Date of Original:
1991-06-24
Collection:
Anne Braden Oral History Project
Contributing Institution:
University of Kentucky