James Coody Johnson (1864 – February 1927) was an African-

Creek A creek in North America and elsewhere, such as Australia, is a stream that is usually smaller than a river. In the British Isles it is a small tidal inlet. Creek may also refer to: People * Creek people, also known as Muscogee, Native Americans ...

entrepreneur, interpreter, lawyer and politician. He was a leading advocate for

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

rights and dual citizen of the Creek and

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, an ...

nations.

Early life

James Coody Johnson was born in 1864 at

Fort Gibson Fort Gibson is a historic military site next to the modern city of Fort Gibson, in Muskogee County Oklahoma. It guarded the American frontier in Indian Territory from 1824 to 1888. When it was constructed, the fort was farther west than any othe ...

to Robert Johnson, an African-Creek interpreter to the

nation, and Elizabeth Davis Johnson. She was the daughter of Sarah Davis, a leading free African-Creek merchant who had purchased her freedom and that of her two daughters. Sarah Davis owned and operated a hotel in the Creek Agency village in present-day Arkansas. Johnson grew up speaking Seminole and English. He was educated at the Presbyterian Mission near Wewoka. The Seminole nation sponsored his college education at Lincoln University, a

historically black college Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. Mo ...

(HBCU) in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. After graduation in 1884, Johnson returned to the

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...

and spent the next year and a half as a

cowboy A cowboy is an animal herder who tends cattle on ranches in North America, traditionally on horseback, and often performs a multitude of other ranch-related tasks. The historic American cowboy of the late 19th century arose from the '' vaquer ...

Career

In 1866, the Creeks' treaty with the United States after the Civil War granted full citizenship to Creek slaves. African Creeks, as they were called, made achievements in education and politics. After his father died in 1886, Johnson returned to the Creek country and became an interpreter to Federal Judge

Isaac Parker Isaac Charles Parker (October 15, 1838 – November 17, 1896), also known as “Hanging Judge” Parker, was an American politician and jurist. He served as a United States representative from Missouri and was appointed as the first United State ...

. After studying law (reading law) under Judge Parker, Johnson was admitted to practice in the federal courts. Johnson was one of the few freedmen accorded dual citizenship in both the Creek and

nations. He became an advisor to the Seminole Chief Halputta Micco and an official interpreter to the Seminole nation. Before

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

achieved statehood in 1907, Johnson was president of the Negro Protection League. Johnson was a leading advocate for African-American rights and opposed introduction of

Jim Crow laws The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...

in Oklahoma. With statehood and the requirement to register for land allotments, African Creeks lost much of the freedom they had in earlier decades. The

Dawes Commission The United States, American Dawes Commission, named for its first chairman Henry L. Dawes, was authorized under a rider to an Indian Office appropriation bill, March 3, 1893. Its purpose was to convince the Five Civilized Tribes to agree to cede tr ...

, ruling that African descent barred people from being considered full members of the Creek Nation, divided its peoples after statehood. He continued to work for the exercise of full citizenship rights by African Americans after the new legislature passed laws imposing segregation and other restrictions."James Coody Johnson"
Black Past, accessed 24 Feb 2009

Death and memorials

Johnson died at his home in Wewoka, Oklahoma in February 1927. The J. Coody Johnson Building in Wewoka, which he built in 1916 to hold his law offices, was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1985. With

Citations

External links

"Black Indian power, James Coody Johnson"
African-American Registry

African-Native American website

1864 births 1927 deaths Muscogee (Creek) Nation people Seminole Nation of Oklahoma people 19th-century American lawyers 20th-century African-American people 20th-century Native Americans People from Indian Territory 19th-century African-American lawyers {{AfricanAmerican-stub

Early life

Career

Death and memorials

Citations

Further reading

External links