Interview with Lyman T. Johnson, December 3, 1984

Interview Summary

Lyman T. Johnson talks about becoming the athletic director at Central High School in Louisville, Kentucky. Johnson talks about how Berea College was an integrated school until 1904 when the Day Law was put into effect, making it illegal for white and black students to attend the same schools. He talks about the Plessy v. Ferguson case which said that segregated facilities must be equal in quality, and discusses why the facilities were never actually equal. Johnson talks about how Central High School was forced to play teams from Alabama, Tennessee, Missouri, and Illinois because there were no other black teams in Kentucky that played at their level and they were not allowed to play white teams because of the Day Law. He talks about the difficulty of funding athletics teams prior to desegregation. He talks about the black coaches' salaries compared to white coaches.
Johnson talks about how in 1949, Central High School played the first integrated football game in Louisville, Kentucky against Saint Xavier High School. Johnson talks about how after integration the white schools began to aggressively recruit the best black athletes by disparaging the black schools. Johnson discusses his views on high school sports for girls. He talks about the future of high school sports and the positive influence of athletics on students' lives.

Interview Keyword

Central High School Day Law University of Kentucky Separate but equal Saint Xavier High School Louisville Male High School duPont Manual High School Athletic directors University of Louisville Salaries Louisville Athletic Board of Control Gender. Football. Basketball Football players. Basketball players.

Interview LC Subject

University of Kentucky--Sports--History African American teachers. African American leadership African Americans--Education. African Americans--Employment. African Americans--Social conditions. Louisville (Ky.) African Americans--Sports African Americans--Civil rights African Americans--Segregation Integration Race discrimination. Race relations--Kentucky Racism School integration--Kentucky Segregation in education--Kentucky Berea College Education, Higher African Americans--Recreation African American athletes.

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Interview Usage

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