George Marion Johnson (May 22, 1900 – August 11, 1987) was an American lawyer and professor who was the first vice chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

Early life and education

Johnson was born in

Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

and raised in San Bernardino, California; he earned Bachelor's and LL.D. degrees from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

in 1923 and 1929, and in 1938 earned a

J.S.D. A Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD; ), or a Doctor of Science of Law (JSD; ), is a research doctorate in law equivalent to the more commonly awarded Doctor of Philosophy degree. Australia The S.J.D. is offered by the Australian National Unive ...

there, one of the first African American holders of the degree.

Career

In 1929 Johnson started practicing as a tax attorney; he was subsequently the first African American California State Assistant Tax Counsel. He moved to academia as a professor at Howard University, and then in World War II was acting General Counsel to the

Fair Employment Practice Committee The Fair Employment Practice Committee (FEPC) was created in 1941 in the United States to implement Executive Order 8802 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt "banning discriminatory employment practices by Federal agencies and all unions and comp ...

, which oversaw the prevention of discrimination in defense industries. In 1946 he became dean of the

Howard University School of Law Howard University School of Law (Howard Law or HUSL) is the law school of Howard University, a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is one of the oldest law schools in the country and the oldes ...

, where he founded the ''Howard Law Review Journal''. He also assisted one of his predecessors, Charles Hamilton Houston, in the preparation of

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

briefs on behalf 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 ...

. In 1957 he was appointed to the

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights (CCR) is a bipartisan, independent commission of the United States federal government, created by the Civil Rights Act of 1957 during the Eisenhower administration, that is charged with the responsibility fo ...

. In 1960, when

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

became independent, Johnson was a founder of the University of Nigeria and was appointed its first vice chancellor. He held the position until 1964, when he was succeeded by Glen L. Taggart. He subsequently worked at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

as a professor of education and at the University of Hawaii as a professor of law and director of the Preadmission Program.

Personal life and death

Johnson was married to Evelyn Johnson. He died in 1987 in

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, George 1900 births 1987 deaths UC Berkeley School of Law alumni Howard University School of Law faculty Academic staff of the University of Nigeria Michigan State University faculty William S. Richardson School of Law faculty 20th-century African-American lawyers Vice-Chancellors of the University of Nigeria