ABSTRACT

This chapter presents an interview of Mrs. Bernice Montgomery Johnson, who was the only schoolteacher from Holmes County who participated in the Civil Rights Movement. Mrs. Johnson is a short, heavily built elderly woman. Her complexion is very light-skinned. She speaks her mind and is very serious about what she does. She is well educated and articulates her words carefully. Mrs. Johnson started out in the Movement by simply opening up her home to civil rights workers. Eventually she also became involved in activities such as encouraging people to register to vote and to hold meetings in their community. Mrs. Johnson's chldren were among those who integrated the white school in Lexington in 1965 and subsequent years. In 1967, after she had taught in the Holmes County school system for twenty-three years, Mrs. Johnson was asked to direct the Head Start program and she accepted.