The beginning of Lyman T. Johnson
EducationYears later Lyman attends Virginia Union University and receives his bachelors in 1930, and master’s degree in history from University of Michigan in 1931. In spring of 1933 he moved to Louisville Kentucky for his sister Cornelia Blue. In 1936 he married his wife Juanita Morrell, and had two kids Yvonne Johnson Hutchins, and Lyman Morrell Johnson. In Louisville he became very active in the community, by first teaching history and other courses at Central high school for thirty three years. For two years he was the assistant principal of Parkland junior high school, which was later named Lyman T. Johnson middle school. He ended up taking two years away from teaching to enlist into the United States Navy during WWII. Even though Lyman was busy he continued to defeat the civil rights injustices in any way he could. |
Lyman Tefft Johnson was born on June 12th 1906 in Colombia Tennessee to Mary and Robert Johnson. Lyman was the eighth of the nine children born to them, and all of them were grandchildren of former slaves. Dyer Johnson, Lyman’s grandfather bought himself out of slavery and after he purchased land and a home 2 years later, he bought his wife Betty. Lyman’s father and uncle were both educators, and expressed that the way to move forward is through education. His father specifically was an educator at a segregated African American school. One day he asked Lyman to run an errand to a segregated all-white school. It was then that he was able to see the full effect of the Jim Crowe laws, and this ignited the fire that lead to his bravery and legacy.
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