Harry E. Johnson (born September 29, 1954, in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, United States) is a career lawyer, entrepreneur, public servant and partner at the Law Office of Glenn and Johnson in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

. He served as City Attorney for Kendelton, Texas from 1996 to 1999, and taught at

Texas Southern University Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically black university in Houston, Texas. The university is one of the largest and most comprehensive historically black college or universities in the USA with nearly 10,00 ...

in both the

Thurgood Marshall School of Law The Thurgood Marshall School of Law (TMSL) is an ABA-accredited law school in Houston, Texas, that awards Juris Doctor and Master of Law degrees. It is part of Texas Southern University. Thurgood Marshall School of Law is a member-school of th ...

and School of Public Affairs from 1994 to 1999. Johnson is a former National President of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, and is the President and CEO of the

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc.

Education

Johnson received his Bachelor of Arts from

Xavier University of Louisiana Xavier University of Louisiana (also known as XULA) is a private, historically black, Catholic university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the only Catholic HBCU and, upon the canonization of Katharine Drexel in 2000, became the first Cathol ...

in May 1986 and completed Post Baccalaureate work in Public Administration at St. Louis University from 1981 to 1982. He received his Doctor of Jurisprudence in May 1986 from

, where he was a member of the Thurgood Marshall Student Bar Association, Senior Class President, and

Phi Alpha Delta Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, International ( or P.A.D.) is the largest professional law fraternity in the United States. Founded in 1902, P.A.D. has since grown to 717 established pre-law, law, and alumni chapters and over 330,000 initiated m ...

President. He also attended

Christian Brothers College High School Christian Brothers College High School (CBC High School) is a Lasallian Catholic college preparatory school for young men in Town and Country, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Louis and ...

of St. Louis, Missouri.

Presidency of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc.

Johnson was the President and CEO, from its 2002 establishment, of the Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc. The President of the United States and the U.S. Congress charged the foundation with erecting a memorial on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. to honor the life and legacy of

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

Under Johnson’s leadership, the foundation raised more than $112 million of the original budget of $120 million for the memorial, saving a further $8 million by having the memorial made in China; positioned three boards (Executive Leadership Cabinet, Governing Board and Honorary Board) for the foundation; and garnered support from all living U.S. Presidents, Congress, members of the corporate and nonprofit communities, and celebrities. Johnson oversaw the Memorial through to its dedication on August 28, 2011.

Presidency of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity

From 2001 to 2004, Johnson served as the 31st National President of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. Johnson was not only the youngest person elected to the position of National President in 40 years, but was also elected with the highest margin of any president in 20 years. While in this role, Johnson oversaw over 700 chapters located throughout the United States and abroad; increased the number of chapters in good standing; and was credited with enhancing the national image of the organization with fraternity members, business leaders and political officials.

Distinctions, honors and awards

Johnson has received a number of recognitions for his community involvement and public service, including: * Trumpet Awards, President’s Award, 2011 * National Service Award, Diplomatic Core, Washington, D.C., 2007 * Trailblazer Award, NAACP, Missouri City Branch, 2004 * One Hundred Black Men, Community Service Award, 2004 *

Ebony Magazine ''Ebony'' is a monthly magazine that focuses on news, culture, and entertainment. Its target audience is the African-American community, and its coverage includes the lifestyles and accomplishments of influential black people, fashion, beauty, an ...

, 100 Most Influential Black Americans, 2001–2004 * Fraser Power Networking panelist, 2003 * National Leadership Award, Delta Sigma Theta, 2002 * Ensemble Theater, Father of the Year, 2002 * Congressional Black Caucus Panelist, 2002 * Alumnus of the Year,

, 1995

Community involvement

Johnson has dedicated his time to many community groups and issues, including voter registration, blood donations, birth defects and teenage pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, the

National Marrow Donor Program The National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1986 and based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that operates the Be The Match Registry of volunteer hematopoietic cell donors and umbilical cord blood units in the United ...

, and the National Blood Drive,

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...

and

Big Brothers of America Big Brothers Big Sisters of America is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to "create and support one-to-one mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth". Adult volunteers are matched with children from a ...

Additional affiliations

* National Board Member of Big Brothers Big Sisters * National Member of March of Dimes Volunteer Corps * State Bar of Texas *

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of aca ...

National Bar Association The National Bar Association (NBA) was founded in 1925 and is the nation's oldest and largest national network of predominantly African-American attorneys and judges. It represents the interests of approximately 65,000 lawyers, judges, law profess ...

* NAACP, Missouri City Branch * National Volunteer,

* Texas Trial Lawyers Association * Houston Trial Lawyers Association * One Hundred Black Men * Board Member of the Sam Houston

References

External links

Dedicate the Dream
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Project Foundation, Inc. Dedication website {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Harry E. 1954 births Living people Alpha Phi Alpha presidents Legal educators Lawyers from St. Louis Texas lawyers Texas Southern University alumni Texas Southern University faculty Xavier University of Louisiana alumni Thurgood Marshall School of Law alumni