[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 16806-16809]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       THE HONORABLE FRANK M. JOHNSON, THE HIDDEN HAND OF JUSTICE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 6, 2015, the Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Al 
Green) for 30 minutes.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I thank the leadership for 
allowing us to have this time to discuss H. Con. Res. 84. This 
recognizes the works of the Honorable Frank M. Johnson, a Federal 
judge.
  Not only was he a Federal judge, he was one of the greatest unsung 
heroes of the civil rights movement, a lawyer par excellence, a great 
student of jurisprudence, and, I would daresay, he was the hidden hand 
of justice in the civil rights movement.
  Before continuing, however, let me just thank some additional 
persons. It is appropriate that I thank the six original cosponsors of 
this resolution. Of course, we would mention the Honorable Alcee 
Hastings of Florida, and we thank him for signing on to this 
resolution. We also would like to thank the Honorable Sheila Jackson 
Lee of Texas, the Honorable Gregory Meeks of New York, the Honorable 
Eleanor Holmes Norton of Washington, D.C., and I especially want to 
thank the Honorable Terri Sewell of Alabama, because Judge Johnson was 
from Alabama. She has signed on to this resolution, meaning that she 
has given her approval. I am grateful to her. She is a great, great 
Member of this body and has done quite well in representing the people 
of her district and, indeed, her State and her country. And, finally, 
the Honorable Frederica Wilson of Florida. All of these Members have 
signed on to this resolution honoring the Honorable Frank M. Johnson.
  The Honorable Frank M. Johnson was a unique person in American 
history, unique in that he was one of those people that made real the 
great and noble American ideals: liberty and justice for all; 
government of the people, by the people, for the people. He truly--he 
truly--made justice more than a word. It meant something to him, and, 
as a result, people were able to benefit from justice. Justice was more 
than a word for the Honorable Frank Johnson.
  He did not have it easy, however. He was appointed to this Federal 
District Court by the Honorable President Dwight Eisenhower in November 
of 1955. After being appointed, he immediately had a very difficult 
case come before him. This is when we learned of the character of Frank 
M. Johnson. His character was such that he refused to allow himself to 
be intimidated.
  Over the course of his life, he had a cross burned on the lawn of his 
yard. Over the course of his life, and he lived for 80 years, his 
mother's house was bombed. It was thought that it was his home. It was 
bombed by the KKK. He was a person who had, as a classmate in law 
school, Governor George Wallace.
  He was a person who probably could not have been predicted to be one 
of the most significant persons in the civil rights movement at the 
time he was appointed to the bench. There are people who, for whatever 
reasons, decide that they are going to do the just and honorable thing, 
and Frank M. Johnson was such a person.
  While he lived, he had to have 24-hour protection--24-hour 
protection--for his very life because there were those who saw him as a 
threat to the way of life that existed at that time. They wanted to end 
his life because of his being perceived as a threat to their way of 
life.
  What is it about him that caused people to want to burn a cross on 
his lawn, that caused persons to bomb his mother's house thinking that 
it was his? What was it about this man that caused people to believe 
that he was such a huge instrumentality that was moving the South in a 
direction that they did not want to see it move into?

[[Page 16807]]

  Well, he was one of those persons who actually proved, Mr. Speaker, 
that Black lives matter. He proved that Black lives were as important 
as any other lives, that all lives matter, but he proved that Black 
lives matter by his decisions that he made.
  I indicated earlier that one of his first decisions, Mr. Speaker, was 
a difficult one. It was a case that involved the bus boycott in 
Montgomery, Alabama. It was a case wherein Rosa Parks, the Alabama 
female of African ancestry, took a seat on a bus; and after taking that 
seat, she was required to move because, as others came on the bus who 
were White, she would have to move, as would any other Black person, 
and give White persons an opportunity to have seats on the bus. She 
would either have to move back or, if all of the other seats were 
filled, she would have to stand. She refused.
  As a result of that refusal, Mr. Speaker, a civil rights movement was 
born in Montgomery, Alabama, and a protest movement was led by the 
Honorable Dr. Martin Luther King. As a result of this protest movement, 
many people galvanized. They came together, and they decided that they 
would not ride the buses and that they would transport themselves to 
and from work.
  Well, one might think that this boycott was the reason that the bus 
line was eventually integrated after about a year of protestations. 
But, Mr. Speaker, the hidden hand of justice was the Honorable Frank M. 
Johnson, because he, on a three-judge panel, concluded that the Brown 
decision, which applied to schools, should be applied to public 
accommodations, should be applied to public transportation. He 
convinced another judge to do so, and, as a result, they issued an 
order that desegregated the buses in Montgomery, Alabama.

                              {time}  1930

  He was the hidden hand of justice. The protest movement was 
absolutely necessary, but he showed that Black lives mattered when he 
decided that he was going to stand for justice and that he was going to 
issue that order integrating the bus lines.
  Later on, in the case of Gomillion v. Lightfoot, this is a case that 
invalidated the City of Tuskegee's plan to dilute Black voting 
strength.
  At that time, it was not unusual for Black voting strength to be 
diluted such that Blacks could not get representation. We were not 
represented in Congress to the extent that we are today.
  At that time, gerrymandering was almost commonplace to make sure that 
Blacks did not have the opportunity to represent constituents in city 
councils, and not only city councils, but in county government, as 
State Representatives, as State Senators, gerrymandering.
  Well, it was the Honorable Frank M. Johnson that invalidated that 
plan that they had and ordered the redrawing of the lines.
  In the United States v. Alabama, in 1961, literacy tests were 
required for Blacks, but they weren't required for Whites. Blacks had 
to take the test, which was impossible to pass, in many cases. How many 
bubbles are there in a bar of soap, all sorts of ridiculous things, 
were required of Blacks.
  But this judge, the hidden hand of justice, the man who believed that 
Black lives mattered, required Black people be registered to vote to 
the same extent as the least qualified White person was registered to 
vote. Allowing Black people to register allowed more Black 
representation to manifest itself in the years that followed.
  In the case of Lewis v. Greyhound, 1961, this case involved the 
Honorable John Lewis, who is now a Member of Congress. It involved 
protesting at a bus station. It involved being seated at a counter and 
involved desegregating the bus lines and the bus stations. John Lewis 
was one of several persons who were arrested, and this violated his 
civil rights.
  It was the Honorable Frank M. Johnson that required the desegregation 
of the bus depots across the length and breadth of the country. By 
directly doing it in Montgomery, Alabama, it eventually became the law 
across the land.
  Again he demonstrated that Black lives mattered to him, and he moved 
on it. He didn't just believe it. He acted on his beliefs.
  In the case of Sims v. Frink, in 1962, this had to do with Alabama 
reapportioning. Alabama had not reapportioned since 1900. The lines had 
been left as they were because, by leaving them as they were, they 
could keep certain people from having a right to vote or having their 
vote really count in the scheme of one man, one vote.
  It was Frank M. Johnson who required that one man, one vote, 
principles be utilized, giving Black people a greater voice in voting.
  In Lee v. Macon County Board of Education, in 1963, this was the 
first statewide desegregation of schools, and it happened in Alabama. 
It happened because Frank M. Johnson concluded that Black lives 
mattered. He ordered the desegregation of these schools, and it was the 
beginning of something that would spread across this country.
  He was a part of the avant-garde of the civil rights movement, but he 
did so with a pen from the bench. As a matter of fact, he did not wear 
a robe when he was on the bench and he did not have a gavel. He 
believed that, if you are a just judge and you are going to follow the 
law, you didn't need the robe and you didn't need the gavel. You just 
needed to follow the law. And he did so.
  He did so in the case of Williams v. Wallace. This is a landmark case 
in that it involved the Honorable Dr. Martin Luther King.
  As we know now, persons assembled at the Edmund Pettus Bridge. They 
assembled there for the purpose of marching from Selma to Montgomery. 
When they assembled at the Edmund Pettus Bridge, they decided that, in 
marching from Selma to Montgomery, they would assemble themselves at a 
church, and they marched from that church to the bridge.
  If you have not been to the Edmund Pettus Bridge, you should do so 
because, as you do so, you will see that that bridge has an arch. As 
you move across the bridge, you can't see from the start of your 
movement to the bridge what lies on the other side.
  But on the other side of the Edmund Pettus Bridge were men, members 
of the constabulary. They were on horses. They had clubs. And these men 
on horses, with clubs, confronted the marchers, who were peaceful. They 
were unarmed.
  They were Black. They were White. They were multi-ethnic in terms of 
their ethnicity. They were persons of goodwill who only wanted to 
exercise their freedom of movement to demonstrate, to move from one 
city to another, protesting the way African Americans were being 
treated in the South in terms of their voting rights, in terms of their 
inability to receive the same treatment as others under the law.
  Well, in doing this, in marching from Selma to Montgomery, when they 
encountered these officers with clubs, these officers beat them.
  The Honorable John Lewis was a part of the march. He has said on many 
occasions that he thought he was going to die.
  They beat them all the way back to the church where they started--all 
the way back to the church--blood on their heads, on their bodies, on 
the ground, on people, as they tried to flee and tried to fend for 
themselves against these members of the constabulary.
  The marchers returned later to march again, but this time they had 
gone to court and they had appeared before the Honorable Frank M. 
Johnson. He issued an order requiring the constabulary to get out of 
the way and allow the marchers to move from Selma to Montgomery.
  Few people are aware that Bloody Sunday was followed by an order from 
the hidden hand of justice, the Honorable Frank M. Johnson. I would 
daresay that that order and that movement, that march, were the basis 
for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1965. It passed shortly 
thereafter.
  The President signed it into law. As a result, many people who are in 
Congress today are here because that march took place and because the 
Honorable Judge, the hidden hand of justice, Frank M. Johnson, signed 
an

[[Page 16808]]

order requiring the constabulary to get out of the way.
  What is interesting about this order, Mr. Speaker, is that it was 
issued by his classmate, whom I mentioned earlier, Governor George 
Wallace. Governor George Wallace and Frank M. Johnson were at constant 
odds with each other. They were at odds with each other not only as it 
related to this march, but as it related to the integration of schools.
  As a matter of fact, there were many people in Alabama who were of 
goodwill who started to call Frank M. Johnson the real Governor of 
Alabama because he stood toe to toe with Governor Wallace and, in so 
doing, made real what the Governor had the opportunity to do, but 
refused to do.
  The Honorable Frank M. Johnson, the hidden hand of justice in Alabama 
and the United States of America.
  In White v. Cook, 1966, he ruled that Blacks should be allowed to and 
must serve on juries in Alabama. Black people have not always had the 
opportunity to serve, even when the law said they had the right to 
serve.
  As a result of not having the right to serve by virtue of the way 
people interpreted the law, they were denied service on juries. It was 
the Honorable Frank M. Johnson that permitted this to happen by his 
ruling.
  Mr. Speaker, how much time do I have left?
  I would like to make sure that I properly cover certain materials.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman from Texas has 14 minutes 
remaining.
  Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Mr. Speaker, Frank M. Johnson, in making this 
ruling that allowed Blacks to serve on juries, was taking a giant step 
forward in that he was bringing Black people into the courthouse and 
they were now allowed to come right in and go right in and sit up 
front.
  Black people haven't always been able to go into the courthouse and 
sit on the front row. They haven't always been respected when they have 
been in the courtroom.
  In my lifetime, I have heard African American lawyers referred to as 
``Boy'' in the courtrooms of this country.
  In my lifetime, I have seen African American lawyers required to wait 
while White lawyers were being served. In my lifetime, I have seen some 
things that I am not proud of.
  But, in my lifetime, I have seen great changes take place, and many 
of these changes took place because of people like Frank M. Johnson, 
unsung heroes, people who have not received the kinds of accolades, the 
kinds of kudos, that they merit for the actions that they took and the 
bravery that they exhibited.
  But tonight I want to make sure that at least one person who was an 
unsung hero gets the notoriety that he deserves. Of course, I am 
speaking of the Honorable Frank M. Johnson.
  In 1966, United States v. Alabama, he ruled that the poll tax was 
unconstitutional, the poll tax. At one time, you had to pay a tax to 
vote. Unfortunately, that time has returned.
  In my State, the State of Texas, we now have a poll tax. That time 
has returned. Frank M. Johnson declared it unconstitutional, giving 
Black people the right to vote without having to pay a fee.
  Well, in my State, the State of Texas, we find now that, if you want 
to vote and you don't have a license to carry a gun and you don't have 
certain other IDs, well, you will have to then acquire an ID to vote. 
And while the State of Texas will provide at no cost a certain type of 
ID, these IDs are predicated upon your having proof of birth, a birth 
certificate.
  I took the test myself. I went to the polls to vote, and I went to 
the polls without my voter registration intentionally, I might add, and 
I voted a provisional ballot.
  I was given time to go out and acquire the proper identification. I 
did it knowing that I would bring the proper identification, and I did 
so. And I voted timely. But I did this because I wanted to see what 
does one go through to simply get a birth certificate.
  Well, I applied for my birth certificate. I was born in the State of 
Louisiana. I applied for it and, to this day, I have not received my 
birth certificate. This was about a year ago that I applied for it. I 
still have not received it from the State of Louisiana. I applied for 
it, paid the fee.
  Now, why am I saying it is a poll tax? Because in the State of Texas, 
if you get your birth certificate from the State of Texas, then there 
is a provision for indigent persons to acquire the certificate and the 
ID and you can do this without a fee.
  But if you are from out of state, you have got to pay that fee to 
that out-of-state agency to get your birth certificate so that you can 
get it to the State of Texas and you can get your ID.
  The point is paying for the right to vote is a poll tax. No one 
should have to pay to vote, no one. Frank M. Johnson outlawed the poll 
tax in the State of Alabama.
  I pray that we have some other Frank M. Johnsons on the bench who 
will eventually outlaw the poll tax in the State of Texas because, to 
Frank M. Johnson, Black lives mattered. They mattered.
  They ought to matter to other people who understand that invidious 
discrimination still exists, that people are finding clever ways to 
keep people from voting today, just as they did many, many years ago.

                              {time}  1945

  The struggle for human rights, human dignity, civil rights is not 
over. There are still challenges before us. There are still people who 
are in high places who are making it difficult for people to vote.
  I thank God for the Frank M. Johnsons of the world who are willing to 
stand for justice and make it possible for people to have the same 
right to vote as other people have had in this country for many years.
  I know that there are some who would say: ``Well, you have got the 
right to vote; you ought to have an ID.'' Well, I don't have a problem 
with people having an ID. I do have a problem when you have to pay for 
that ID so that you can vote. Voting is separate, and it is sacred in 
this country. We ought not require people to have to pay a fee to 
acquire an ID so that they can vote.
  So he declared the poll tax unconstitutional in 1966.
  In 1970, in Smith v. the YMCA of Montgomery, he ordered the 
desegregation of the Montgomery chapter of the YMCA.
  The YMCA has not always had its doors open to Blacks, and many of the 
institutions in this country who did open doors opened only the back 
door. I know. I have been to the back doors. I know what it is like to 
go to a bus station and have to go to the back door. I know what it is 
like to go to a food service establishment and have to go to the back 
door to get your food. I have been there. I know what it is like to 
travel across country and to have to pick your places to stop because 
in certain places it was known that you were not permitted to stop; and 
in those places where you were permitted to stop, you would have to use 
back doors a good amount of the time.
  So I know what discrimination looks like. I have seen the face of 
discrimination, and I understand how it hurts people. I understand the 
pain that is inflicted upon people. I am proud that we can now go 
through front doors because of judges like Frank M. Johnson, who had 
the courage to order the desegregation of public accommodation 
facilities in this country. I am so proud that there are unsung heroes 
who took a stand when others would simply conclude that this is not the 
right time, the country is not ready.
  There were many other judges who could have taken the same position 
that Frank M. Johnson took, but they didn't do so. It takes courage to 
do the righteous thing. Frank M. Johnson was a righteous person, and he 
had the courage to do the righteous thing.
  In the case of the NAACP v. Dothard, which required Alabama to hire 
one Black State trooper for every White State trooper, which was to be 
done until parity was achieved, it was the Honorable Frank M. Johnson 
that ordered this be done.
  Frank M. Johnson understood the necessity to have the DPS in Alabama

[[Page 16809]]

demonstrate diversity. He understood that if you have a diverse police 
department, Department of Public Safety, that you are going to get 
people there who can help other people be better people. It was by 
doing this that we got more Blacks into the Department of Public Safety 
in Alabama and, as a result, across the country later on. He had the 
courage to do this because he knew that Black lives matter.
  Now, this is not to say that only a certain color of person is going 
to make a good peace officer, not true. People of all hues, of all 
ethnicities, of all races, of all creeds can make good peace officers. 
But there are some who are not good, and those have to be removed from 
their positions. You ought not have people who don't respect all 
people, but especially at this time when we are seeing so many things 
happen to Black people, that don't understand that Black lives matter.
  I cannot resist the temptation to avoid speaking about what happened 
to that young girl in South Carolina. I think the sheriff did the right 
thing. He has removed that officer from his department. But there is 
something about that case that I think we need to talk about very 
briefly, tersely, this: If the camera's eye had not been there, I 
conclude, I prognosticate, he would not have been fired. He would not 
have been fired without the camera's eye.
  The sheriff, himself, said that two adults who were there, who saw 
what happened--two adults, one a teacher--said they thought the 
officer's behavior was correct. They didn't have a problem with the 
officer's behavior. It was the eye of the camera, Mr. Speaker, that 
made the difference. The camera brings to us what we cannot acquire 
when we get people with conflicting stories about what happened. We had 
an opportunity to see for ourselves what happened.
  This is why we need body cameras. This is why Congressman Cleaver and 
I have introduced the CAM TIP Act in this Congress, so that people 
across the length and breadth of this country can be protected who are 
officers. If they have the body camera on, you have the evidence of 
what occurred. Citizens are protected. Officers can't have these 
frivolous charges made real. They will help both officers and citizens.
  Body cameras make a difference. They are not the panacea; they are 
not the silver bullet; they won't be the end-all; but they will be a 
means by which we will have additional evidence of what actually 
occurred. And many times that evidence is going to be much more potent, 
much more revealing than what people will say when they have 
conflicting stories.
  I believe we ought to do all that we can to help the municipalities, 
the police departments across the length and breadth of this country 
acquire these body cameras, because these body cameras will make a 
difference in the lives of people.
  In this case in South Carolina, if not but for the eye of the camera, 
I conclude we would have different results because you had two adults 
who proclaimed the actions of the officer to be appropriate.
  It was Frank M. Johnson who declared that there should be parity in 
the DPS in Alabama.
  Finally, I want to mention this case. It is the case of a 39-year-old 
White female, Viola Liuzzo, who came down to Alabama to do what she 
thought was the righteous thing and help in the civil rights movement. 
She was murdered by the KKK. And after an informant in the KKK revealed 
the identities of the culprits, and when they were brought to trial 
with overwhelming evidence, in the first trial, there was a hung jury. 
In the second trial, an all-White jury acquitted the officers. In the 
third trial, before the Honorable Frank M. Johnson, they were all found 
guilty, but they were not found guilty without the judge requiring the 
jury to deliberate at length. He may have been one of the first to give 
what is known as an Allen charge today, requiring the jurors to 
continue to deliberate notwithstanding their belief that they had 
exhausted all of their options. He required them to continue to 
deliberate; and, as a result, these three members of the KKK were found 
guilty. After having been found guilty, they were each sentenced to 10 
years.
  So I am honored tonight to have brought to the attention of this 
august body, to the attention of our State of Texas, to the attention 
of the United States of America the many, many exploits positive of 
Frank M. Johnson. I pray that this resolution will pass in the Congress 
of the United States of America for this unsung hero who understood 
that Black lives matter.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe my time is up, and I am honored that you were 
gracious enough not to remove me from the microphone. Thank you for the 
additional time. God bless you.
  I yield back the balance of my time.

                          ____________________