EKU Professor to Speak Dec. 2 on Civil Rights Movement |
The next lecture in the 2004-05 Chautauqua Series on diversity will look at civil rights.
“Life and Times: Growing Up in Mississippi in the '50s and '60s” will be presented by Dr. Wardell Johnson on Thursday, Dec. 2, at 7:30 p.m. in the SSB Auditorium. All the programs are free and open to the public. |
Johnson, a professor of exercise and sports science at Eastern, grew up in Greenwood, Miss., while the civil rights movement was taking place. He met Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and “experienced his intellect, his power and influence first hand.”
“I will talk about Freedom School, the term ‘Black Power’ as it was first mentioned in my hometown, the killings in Mississippi and the story of Emmett Till,” said Johnson. “My grandmother married Emmett Till’s uncle. I experienced many of the stories first hand that I will be sharing.”
Johnson earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education and recreation from the University of Tennessee, a master’s degree in sport management and business from EKU, and a doctorate in kinesiology and health promotions from the University of Kentucky.
