Erle Ennis Johnston Jr. (October 10, 1917 - September 26, 1995) was a public official, newspaperman, author, and mayor in Mississippi. He was campaign associate for

Ross Barnett Ross Robert Barnett (January 22, 1898November 6, 1987) was the Governor of Mississippi from 1960 to 1964. He was a Southern Democrat who supported racial segregation. Early life Background and learning Born in Standing Pine in Leake County ...

and wrote a biography of the segregationist governor. In 1960, Barnett appointed him public relations director of the pro-segregation

Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission The Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission (also called the Sov-Com) was a state agency in Mississippi from 1956 to 1977 tasked with fighting desegregation and controlling civil rights activism. It was overseen by the Governor of Mississippi. T ...

. Johnston became its executive director and continued to hold the public relations duties. He held the position under Governor Paul B. Johnson, Jr. before resigning in 1968. He worked at ''The Scott County Times'' before buying it. Johnston was

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

from 1981 to 1985. He was born in

Garyville, Louisiana Garyville is a census-designated place (CDP) in St. John the Baptist Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,775 at the 2000 census and 2,123 in 2020. It is part of the New Orleans– Metairie–Kenner Metropolitan Statisti ...

. He attended

Grenada High School Grenada High School is a public high school located in Grenada, Mississippi, United States. It educates students in grades 9 through 12 and is the only high school in the Grenada School District. History The first public high school in Grenada w ...

. In May 1962 he gave a commencement speech at

titled "The Practical Way to Maintain a Separate School System in Mississippi" in which he criticized the "extremism" of the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

and Citizens Councils. He oversaw production of the Sovereignty Commission's film '' The Message from Mississippi. He wrote ''I Rolled with Ross: A Political Portrait'' published in 1980, ''Mississippi’s Defiant Years, 1953–1973'' published in 1990, and ''Politics: Mississippi Style'' published in 1993. He was interviewed July 30, 1980 for

Eyes on the Prize ''Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Movement'' is an American television series and 14-part documentary about the 20th-century civil rights movement in the United States. The documentary originally aired on the PBS network, and it also ...

. The

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

has a collection of his papers. Johnston died September 26, 1995 from heart failure while in hospital.

References

:''This draft is in progress as of October 18, 2022.'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnston, Erle 1917 births 1995 deaths