By Roscoe Barnes III
Chairman, Anne Moody
History Project
Copyright © 2018
#AnneMoody
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Charles E. Johnson of
Woodville, Miss., is doing his part to preserve and promote the history of the
school system in Wilkinson County in southwest Mississippi. Johnson, who is now
retired, served for many years as the Superintendent of Education in the
county. For the last few years, he’s spent quality time assisting with the
school district yearbook.
In the 2015 yearbook,
Johnson featured a piece related to the life history of Anne
Moody, author of Coming of Age in
Mississippi. In a nice two-page spread, Johnson presented a Dedication Page
to the Rev. Henry L. Johnson, the founder of Johnson High School, and a second
page that featured the photos of the 1959 high school graduates. Johnson High School was a historically black school.
Charles Johnson
(no relation to Henry) described the school’s founder as a “minister, civic
worker and humanitarian whose unselfish work spearheaded a drive to solicit
funds which made it possible to erect the first high school building for black
children in Wilkinson County in 1949.”
The Dedication Page
included a color photo of Rev. Johnson. A copy of the photo is also located at
the African American Museum in Woodville, which is run by the Woodville Civic
Club Inc. The school, a six-room wooden structure, was located on Gaylord
Street in Woodville. It was torn down in the 1960s.
Moody wrote about Johnson
High School in Coming of Age. She began
attending the school soon after moving to Woodville, where she lived with her
father, Fred Moody Sr. “Meantime, I was going to Johnson High School every day,”
she wrote in Chapter 17 of her book. She later wrote:
During
that spring I hardly saw Emma or Daddy at all. Johnson High had become one of
the most challenged teams in the state and I was one of its most valuable
players. In addition, I organized Johnson High’s first gymnastic and tumbling
team, ran track, did substitute teaching, and spent all day Sunday in church.
Before I realized it, I was practicing for graduation.
Moody graduated in 1959,
the year that Johnson High School officially closed, according to Coming of Age. The graduation ceremony
was held at the Wilkinson County Training School. Surprisingly, however, Moody’s
photo does not appear in the 1959 school photo of graduates.
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Would you like to
know MORE about Anne Moody? Visit here to
see the timeline
of important events in her life history!
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For more information:
See the Anne Moody page here.
Questions about the Anne Moody History Project may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III via email at doctorbarnes3@gmail.com or roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com. For updates on Anne Moody history and the on-going work of this community service project, simply follow this blog or follow AMHP on Twitter (@AnneMoodyHP). #ComingOfAgeinMississippi
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