Interview with Lyman T. Johnson, March 23, 1979

Project: Wade Hall Papers (2009ms131): Interviews with Lyman T. Johnson

  • Description
  • Play Interview
  • Rights & Request
  • Citation

Interview Summary

Johnson describes his niece and her husband and the social conditions of life in the South for African Americans and women. He discusses how not protesting is seen as agreeing with the adversaries and gives several examples of segregation. He mentions that race relations have improved in his hometown, partly because of the civil rights laws passed by Lyndon B. Johnson, and describes the racial makeup of his hometown when he lived there. He and the interviewer discuss the Uncle Remus stories and how the progress made towards equal rights should be a source of pride for African Americans. Johnson discusses race relations with the police and how his nephew, who became a police officer, was not supposed to arrest white people. He describes some examples of white people objecting to black people having authority over them, including a child who objected to his black teacher. They discuss white privilege and how it prevented poor whites from cooperating with freed black people in order to advance both of their conditions. They discuss the concept of "putting on a coon act" and end with Johnson describing his education from childhood to undergraduate university.

Interview Accession

2019oh1548_whlj0005

Interviewee Name

Lyman T. Johnson

Interviewer Name

Wade Hall

Interview Date

1979-03-23

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.

Restriction

No Restrictions


access interview in full screen  

Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Add this interview to your cart in order to begin the process of requesting access to a copy of and/or permission to reproduce interview(s). 


Johnson, Lyman T. Interview by Wade Hall. 23 Mar. 1979. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.

Johnson, L.T. (1979, March 23). Interview by W. Hall. Wade Hall Papers (2009ms131): Interviews with Lyman T. Johnson. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.

Johnson, Lyman T., interview by Wade Hall. March 23, 1979, Wade Hall Papers (2009ms131): Interviews with Lyman T. Johnson, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.





You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.

If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.

Persistent Link for this Record: https://kentuckyoralhistory.org/ark:/16417/xt710ng493zb7