[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 149 (Thursday, December 1, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: December 1, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                       TRIBUTE TO CHARLES JOHNSON

  Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, during the recent recess of the Senate, a 
distinguished citizen of the State of Mississippi, Charles Johnson, 
passed away.
  He was a good friend of my family for many years, and his assistance 
to me as an adviser on education issues will always be remembered and 
deeply appreciated.
  A wonderful article describing his career and his valuable 
contributions to the State of Mississippi and to public education was 
written by Danny McKenzie and published in the Jackson Clarion Ledger. 
I ask unanimous consent that this article be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

         [From the Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, MS, Oct. 16, 1994]

          Charlie Johnson Touched People in All Walks of Life

                          (By Danny McKenzie)

       So today we must say goodbye to another of the all too few 
     Southern gentlemen who for so many years played a major role 
     in the shaping of Mississippi.
       Today we say goodbye to Charles A. Johnson Jr., who for 
     nearly 50 years was involved in the education of Mississippi 
     children.
       Johnson died Sunday, following a long and tough fight with 
     cancer. His funeral is 10 a.m. today at Briarwood 
     Presbyterian Church in Jackson with burial at 3:30 p.m. in 
     Odd Fellows Cemetery in Aberdeen.
       He was known simply as ``Charlie'' and his nickname fit him 
     perfectly. There was not one ounce of pretentiousness about 
     Johnson.


                         more than an educator

       Charlie Johnson's specialty was education, but his 
     qualities transcended job descriptions and reached across all 
     human boundaries and touched people in all walks of life.
       Johnson was superintendent of schools in Canton and 
     Starkville and he was president of Chamberlain-Hunt Academy 
     in Port Gibson.
       For 10 years he was the executive secretary of the 
     Mississippi Education Association.
       He was a progressive leader in education during a time when 
     progress and education were often mutually exclusive terms.
       John Hartman, Johnson's executive assistant during his days 
     with MEA, recalled a program the quiet leader came up with in 
     1967 that was too bold for many in the state Legislature, but 
     one that endeared him to teachers.
       ``He convinced the MEA board of directors to fund a program 
     called `You Decide','' said Hartman, now the executive 
     director of the Mississippi Association of School Boards. 
     ``We trotted out everything that was absolutely true about 
     public schools, and some of it was not exactly positive.
       ``But the complete honesty of it caught the attention of 
     Gov. (John Bell) Williams, and he then took the reins and 
     turned it into a $1,000 pay raise for teachers--something 
     that was unheard of in the South during that time.
       ``Charlie was totally loyal to the proposition of providing 
     to schools the absolute best that could be provided.''


                          ``supremely honest''

       Hartman also recalled Johnson's dealings with the 
     Mississippi Legislature during some extremely turbulent 
     years.
       ``Charlie was supremely honest,'' he said. ``One of the 
     things he insisted on were legislative hearings on matters 
     that had to do with education. That's another thing that was 
     just not done back then.''
       David Barham, the director of operations of the Mississippi 
     Lions Eye and Tissue Bank, was an MEA staff member during 
     Johnson's tenure. He said it was Johnson's dignity that made 
     the deepest impression on him.
       ``That above all else,'' Barham said.
       ``Charlie always maintained a very quiet dignity in the 
     toughest of situations. I'm sure that's why he had so much 
     respect from the Legislature--his complete equanimity during 
     some really trying circumstances.''
       Hartman concurred. ``I think he could be characterized as 
     being supremely honest with an absolute absence of any 
     pretense, and he was kind to the core.''
       Both Hartman and Barham also mentioned another of Johnson's 
     traits: strength.
       Charlie Johnson was not a physically imposing man; he was 
     tall and extremely slim. But those who knew him best knew his 
     strength, and those who didn't know him and judged his inward 
     strength by his outward appearance soon found how wrong they 
     had been.
       Johnson's resolve, his dignity and his caring all stemmed 
     from a close relationship with his Lord. He was one of those 
     rare individuals who truly knew right from wrong, and who had 
     the Christian courage to carry out his convictions.
       It is, I suppose, a cliche to state that Charlie Johnson 
     was a man who made better people of all of us who knew him.
       He did, though, and that will be Charlie Johnson's legacy.

                          ____________________