Biography
An alumnus of the University of Alabama and the University of Alabama School of Law (one of Johnson's classmates was future Governor George C. Wallace, who would be Johnson's bête noire in the civil rights litigation of the 1960s), Johnson served in the U.S. Army in Europe during World War II, while his wife, Ruth (also a classmate from the University of Alabama) served in the WAVES as an advisor to Hollywood filmmakers. After military service, Johnson entered private law practice in Jasper, Alabama from 1946 to 1953. He was a delegate from Alabama to the 1948 Republican National Convention, and served as a U.S. District Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, 1953-55.
Frank Johnson was a delegate to the 1948 Republican National Convention. He managed Alabama’s “Veterans for Eisenhower” during the 1952 campaign.
Johnson was a resolute foe of the Democratic Party's segregationist policies. President Eisenhower named him U.S. District Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama and then to the federal bench. In 1956, Judge Johnson ruled in favor of Rosa Parks, striking down the “blacks in the back of the bus” law. In 1965, it was Judge Johnson who struck down attempts by Alabama's Democrat governor to block the Selma voting rights march led by Martin Luther King, Jr.
Read more about this topic: Frank Minis Johnson
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