By Cheryl Oestreicher, Project Archivist, Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History
"Working for Freedom: Documenting Civil Rights Organizations" is a collaborative project between Emory University's Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library, The Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History, The Amistad Research Center at Tulane University, and The Robert W. Woodruff Library of Atlanta University Center to uncover and make available previously hidden collections documenting the Civil Rights Movement in Atlanta and New Orleans. The project is administered by the Council on Library and Information Resources with funds from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Each organization regularly contributes blog posts about their progress.
In 1972, Jondelle Johnson became the Executive Director of the NAACP Atlanta Branch. The organization was at a transitional moment, with the major civil rights actions of the 1960s over but new initiatives not yet defined. Known as “Mrs. NAACP,” her leadership in the 1970s and 1980s helped the Branch continue established committees and initiate new programs.
Johnson was born in Charleston, South Carolina on March 11, 1924. She graduated Allen University in 1945 with honors, with a major in psychology and a minor in education. She also did some graduate work in elementary education at both Atlanta and Emory Universities. She was married to Winfred Johnson with whom she had four children. She was a member of Wheat Street Baptist Church and later Solid Rock Miracle Temple.
"Working for Freedom: Documenting Civil Rights Organizations" is a collaborative project between Emory University's Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library, The Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History, The Amistad Research Center at Tulane University, and The Robert W. Woodruff Library of Atlanta University Center to uncover and make available previously hidden collections documenting the Civil Rights Movement in Atlanta and New Orleans. The project is administered by the Council on Library and Information Resources with funds from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Each organization regularly contributes blog posts about their progress.
"Working for Freedom: Documenting Civil Rights Organizations" is a collaborative project between Emory University's Manuscript, Archives and Rare Book Library, The Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History, The Amistad Research Center at Tulane University, and The Robert W. Woodruff Library of Atlanta University Center to uncover and make available previously hidden collections documenting the Civil Rights Movement in Atlanta and New Orleans. The project is administered by the Council on Library and Information Resources with funds from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Each organization regularly contributes blog posts about their progress.
