Leroy Johnson (1929–2019), Georgia’s first Black senator after Reconstruction

Leroy Johnson was Georgia’s first Black state senator elected after Reconstruction, serving from 1963 to 1975. While serving in Georgia’s legislature, Johnson played a pivotal role in desegregating the state capitol building. Also an attorney, Johnson used his knowledge of the law and his status as a state lawmaker to have Muhammad Ali’s boxing license reinstated in 1970 after it had been stripped in 1966 for his refusal to be drafted. Johnson ran for mayor of Atlanta in 1973, but he lost to Maynard Jackson, who became Atlanta’s first Black mayor and served three terms. Johnson was honored in 2017 with the State Bar of Georgia’s Lifetime Achievement Award.