Kathryn Magnolia Johnson (December 15, 1878 – November 13, 1954) was an American political activist who began working as a teacher before becoming one of the first members of the

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 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. ...

. After criticizing the organization's all white leadership roles, Johnson joined the

Young Men's Christian Association YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

. After the organization sent Johnson to France to observe during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Johnson published a book about her findings called, ''Two Colored Women with the American Expeditionary Forces'' (1920). This book was written with

Addie Waites Hunton Addie Waites Hunton (June 11, 1866 – June 22, 1943) was an African-American suffragist, race and gender activist, writer, political organizer, and educator. In 1889, Hunton became the first black woman to graduate from Spencerian College of Comm ...

. The rest of Johnson's life was dedicated to spreading African American activism across the states through book selling to help in the campaign for civil rights.

Early life

Kathryn Magnolia Johnson was born on December 15, 1878, in

Darke County Darke County is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,881. Its county seat is Greenville. The county was created in 1809 and later organized in 1817. It is named for William Darke, an officer in the ...

, Ohio, at the Greenville Settlement, also known as Longtown. Johnson's parents were Walter and Lucinda Jane McCown Johnson; her brother was Joseph Lowery Johnson, a physician who would become U.S. ambassador to Liberia. Johnson went to high school in

New Paris, Ohio New Paris is a village (United States)#Ohio, village in Preble County, Ohio, Preble County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,629 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is part of the Dayton, Ohio, Dayton Greater Dayton, Metrop ...

, and graduated in 1895. Johnson received a bachelor's degree and a teaching certificate after she attended

Wilberforce University Wilberforce University is a private historically black university in Wilberforce, Ohio. Affiliated with the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME), it was the first college to be owned and operated by African Americans. It participates in t ...

Wilberforce, Ohio Wilberforce is a census-designated place (CDP) in Greene County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,271 at the 2010 census, up from 1,579 at the 2000 census. History After Wilberforce College was established in 1856, the community was a ...

. Johnson also studied at the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of ...

in 1908.

Teaching career and activism

Johnson's career began as a teacher in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

and

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

. Johnson taught at the State Normal School for Negroes in North Carolina and then was also the Dean of Women at Shorter College in

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

, Ark. in 1906. While teaching in a high school, Johnson joined the

as one of the first members when it was first formed in 1909. During her time in the association, Johnson was a sales representative for the NAACP's journal, ''The'' ''Crisis''. As a branch organizer in the association, she was also responsible for helping dozens of branches of the association throughout the south. However, Johnson began to criticize that the NAACP failed to have any colored people as leaders so Johnson left the association in 1916. Johnson joined the

. In the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

, Johnson worked amongst African Americans. The

ended up sending Johnson and her coworker,

, to France. In

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, they were responsible for examining the treatment of black soldiers during

. In 1918, Kathryn M. Johnson, as volunteer and secretary with the YMCA WWI France, established the Frederick Douglas Hut at Camp Pontenezen outside of Brest, France. Kathryn developed an education system for Black soldiers teaching them how to read and write. Many were from farming and never had the opportunity to gather formal education. Many could sign an X to their paystubs. Many couldn't write home because of their illiteracy. Eventually the Army command mandated that all illiterate Black soldiers had to take Kathryn's course. Once they returned home, Johnson and Waites wrote the book ''Two Colored Women with the American Expeditionary Forces'' (1920). The book described the poor treatment black soldiers observed in the cultural climate of

during the war.

Later life and legacy

Johnson's mission after returning from France was to spread activism against racial oppression by promoting literacy. Johnson began a nationwide campaign to help improve the civil rights through promoting literacy. This included selling books from black authors called "A Two Foot Shelf of Negro Literature" and selecting and circulating literature by Carter G, Woodson,

W. E. B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American-Ghanaian sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in ...

, Benjamin Brawley and

James Weldon Johnson James Weldon Johnson (June 17, 1871June 26, 1938) was an American writer and civil rights activist. He was married to civil rights activist Grace Nail Johnson. Johnson was a leader of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peop ...

. By being a bookseller, Johnson hoped to promote reading among African Americans in order for them to learn more about their historical contributions and hopefully to then inspire them to take action in fight against racial oppression. Over the years, Johnson had traveled over "9,000 miles and sold 15,000 books." Johnson's work also helped showed the possibilities as well as restrictions that African American women had during this time period. During her old age, Kathryn Magnolia Johnson lived in Ezella Mathias Carter Home for Colored Working Women in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Johnson died on November 13, 1954.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Kathryn Magnolia American political activists African-American schoolteachers 1878 births 1955 deaths People from Darke County, Ohio Schoolteachers from Ohio American women educators 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women