[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 207 (Wednesday, December 1, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H6718-H6719]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING DR. ATTORNEY JOHNNIE JONES, SR.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Louisiana (Mr. Carter) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CARTER of Louisiana. Mr. Speaker, this week, a Louisiana legend 
turned 102 years old. Dr. Attorney Johnnie Jones, Sr., has lived a 
lifetime fulfilling every day with service, activism, and love for 
family and country.
  Born in 1919, he was one of eight children in a successful family who 
leased land in eastern Louisiana. He attended Southern University until 
being drafted into the Army in 1942 during World War II where he was 
the first-ever African-American warrant officer in United States Army 
history.
  Jones was injured in the battle at Normandy on D-day 77 years ago. 
Before landing on the beach, his ship hit a mine, and he flew from the 
second deck down to the first. As he described it, he flew like a 
bullet, but he survived, coming ashore on Omaha Beach, facing off with 
German snipers. Later in the war, he was hit with shrapnel during a 
bomber attack and finished his military service in the Battle of the 
Bulge. These nightmarish memories have remained with Mr. Jones until 
today.
  Much of his paperwork and records of service were lost during 
Hurricane Katrina, so it was earlier this year, at the age of 101, that 
Dr. Attorney Jones finally received the Purple Heart award in 
recognition of his battle injuries.
  Through all that he endured, he persisted. He returned home to 
Louisiana, where he began to serve in a different capacity, this time 
as a lawyer. Just 15 days out of Southern University's law school in 
1953, the Reverend T.J. Jemison recruited him to organize the United 
Defense League's 8-day bus boycott in Baton Rouge and defend the 
participants.
  After the Baton Rouge City Council revoked the licenses of Black-
owned transportation companies, many African Americans were forced to 
ride segregated buses and sit in the back of the bus or stand.
  When hundreds of patrons boycotted riding in protest, some positive 
changes were made, though segregation still remained the law of the 
land. The Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King used the Baton Rouge protest 
as a model for his bus boycott in Montgomery 2 years later.
  Dr. Jones defended students in drugstore sit-ins and other actions as 
civil rights protests spread throughout the South. During these 
efforts, his car was bombed twice. Immediately after his return from 
war, he was beaten by a White officer on his way to a doctor's 
appointment.
  ``Things weren't right,'' said Dr. Jones. ``I wanted to fight and 
make it better.''
  Here is a man who has been through so much, who has tasted the evils 
of the world and has every reason to be bitter, but he isn't. However, 
he has insisted on focusing his life on sharing love for our State and 
fighting for equality.
  Jones was the first African-American member of the Baton Rouge Bar 
Association. He served in the Louisiana House of Representatives. 
Throughout his career as a lawyer, he successfully sought pay equity 
for teachers and sued to desegregate parks and communities in 
Louisiana.

[[Page H6719]]

  He also represented student protesters at Southern University during 
the civil rights movement and countless indigent defendants, and he 
challenged voter discrimination practices throughout the South.
  I was grateful to have the opportunity to speak with Dr. Attorney 
Johnnie Jones on Veterans Day to thank him for his incredible service 
to our people in America.
  On his birthday, he celebrated with friends, family, and good 
Louisiana seafood. Today, let's all thank Dr. Jones for his great 
advice that he shares with us, which is: ``You have to deal with the 
past, and you have to deal with the history. You have to read and 
understand so we don't repeat the past.''

  Let's build better. Let's build a future for everyone.
  Please join me in wishing Dr. Attorney Johnnie Jones, Sr., a happy 
102nd birthday.

                          ____________________