Colonel S. Johnson was an American civil rights activist. Born in 1918, he was the son of Fannie and Colonel Johnson. Some people mistake Johnson's first name for a military title, but Johnson took that name from his father, who was named Colonel to honor a Union officer in the Civil War, William R. Brewster, who led a brigade at Gettysburg. ''My father wanted me to have his name,'' Mr. Johnson said in 2011. His family moved to Birmingham when he was 4. After graduating from Lincoln High School in 1939, he was hired to work at the Louisville & Nashville Railroad Company, where he worked for nearly 40 years, starting in 1942. He became active in labor issues and he said he was the first black union representative for the company in Birmingham. After a 1956 Christmas bombing at Bethel Baptist Church where the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, who died in 2011, was pastor. Mr. Johnson helped organize a group of watchmen who protected the church. On June 29, 1958, restaurant worker Laverne McWilliams was returning home after midnight and reported a smoking object next to the church, Mr. Johnson recalled in a 2011 interview with The Birmingham News. The city of Birmingham in 2011 dedicated a street in his honor. Mr. Johnson's wife of nearly 70 years, Beatrice, died in May at the age of 89. Woods said the two never had children. Woods said he has been notifying relatives of Johnson who live out of state. Johnson died on January 19, 2012 in Alabama to natural causes. He was 93.
Colonel S. Johnson was an American civil rights activist. Born in 1918, he was the son of Fannie and Colonel Johnson. Some people mistake Johnson's first name for a military title, but Johnson took that name from his father, who was named Colonel to honor a Union officer in the Civil War, William R. Brewster, who led a brigade at Gettysburg. ''My father wanted me to have his name,'' Mr. Johnson said in 2011. His family moved to Birmingham when he was 4. After graduating from Lincoln High School in 1939, he was hired to work at the Louisville & Nashville Railroad Company, where he worked for nearly 40 years, starting in 1942. He became active in labor issues and he said he was the first black union representative for the company in Birmingham. After a 1956 Christmas bombing at Bethel Baptist Church where the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, who died in 2011, was pastor. Mr. Johnson helped organize a group of watchmen who protected the church. On June 29, 1958, restaurant worker Laverne McWilliams was returning home after midnight and reported a smoking object next to the church, Mr. Johnson recalled in a 2011 interview with The Birmingham News. The city of Birmingham in 2011 dedicated a street in his honor. Mr. Johnson's wife of nearly 70 years, Beatrice, died in May at the age of 89. Woods said the two never had children. Woods said he has been notifying relatives of Johnson who live out of state. Johnson died on January 19, 2012 in Alabama to natural causes. He was 93.
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