Oral History Collection
The Judge Frank M. Johnson, Jr. Institute Oral History Project records stories, memories, and accounts of events from people who knew, worked with, and were affected by the rulings of Judge Frank Johnson. Additionally, our collection includes interviews conducted by Prof. Bob Bickel as part of “The First Amendment and the Civil Rights Movement,” which is housed at the Johnson Institute. Interviews from the course are indicated with an asterisk next to the name. This collection preserves these stories for future historical and educational use. Videos of the oral histories can be found below, and more oral histories will be added in the future.
The Johnson Institute works hand-in-hand with the Middle District of Alabama, where other videos and transcripts can be found in its extensive collection of oral histories.
Many Johnson Institute events have also captured stories from notable figures. Additional videos are located under “Past Events” on this website, including recordings of Rep. John Lewis, Judge Myron Thompson, and many others.
Jere Beasley
Jere Beasley, Founder of Beasley Allen, discusses his life, career, and the law.
Claudette Colvin
Claudette Colvin, a plaintiff in Browder v. Gayle, discusses her memories of the case.
Arlam Carr*
When he was in the 8th grade, Arlam Carr was the nominal plaintiff in the landmark case of Carr v. Montgomery County Board of Education. He discusses his parents’ decision to file the case, Judge Johnson’s orders, and the meaning of the case for himself, his peers, and the effort to end state-enforced or de facto racial segregation in Alabama’s public schools.
J. Mason Davis, Jr.
For Law Day 2022 and its theme “Toward a More Perfect Union: The Constitution in Times of Change," the Johnson Institute interviewed attorney J. Mason Davis, Jr. at his office in Birmingham, AL.
Armand Derfner*
In the courtroom, Mr. Derfner was in the front lines of the legal history of voting rights, as a part of the legendary legal teams that included Jack Greenberg, Joseph Rauh, Jr., Nicholas Katzenbach, John Doar and others who were the seminal legal advocates for voting rights – dealing with the integrity of the voting process and redistricting.
Martin Firestone*
Martin Firestone was a central figure in Office of Communication of the United Church of Christ v. The Federal Communications Commission, a case that is the subject of Kay Mills’ book, “Changing Channels: The Civil Rights Case That Transformed Television.”
Janice Kelsey*
At age sixteen, Janice Kelsey was introduced to her first “mass meeting” in the Birmingham Movement in 1963, and she remembers personally being in the audience and hearing Martin Luther King, Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth and Rev. James Bevel. In this interview, she tells the story of the participation of secondary school students in the peaceful mass protests against school segregation.
Kim Kirschenfeld
Kim Kirschenfeld, daughter of physician Dr. Jack Kirschenfeld, discusses her memories of Judge Frank Johnson and his wife, Ruth.
Nelson Malden
Mr. Nelson Malden discusses his career as a barber to Dr. Martin Luther King and others in Montgomery, AL.
Clay McInnis
Clay McInnis discusses Judge Frank Johnson and his family's relationship with the judge and his wife, Ruth.
Valda Harris Montgomery
Dr. Valda Harris Montgomery discusses her childhood as a neighbor of Dr. Martin Luther King, connections with the Freedom Rides, and her involvement in the Civil Rights Movement.
David Meyers & Winonah Beamer Meyers*
David and Winonah Beamer Meyers tell the unique story of two white college students who came to the Civil Rights Movement because of a nontraditional higher education experience, deeply shared views of the personal responsibility to support the struggle for racial equality, and the belief that every citizen should demand that government live up to the principles of equality embodied in the Constitution.
Ernest “Rip” Patton*
Rip Patton was a student at Tennessee State University when he joined The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in 1960, participating in the Lawson Nonviolence Workshops, the Nashville sit-ins and other protests of segregation in Nashville. He joined the Freedom Rides in 1961 and was in the first group to make it to Jackson, Mississippi, where he was arrested for entering a “white only” Greyhound Bus Station waiting room. His group also included John Lewis, Hank Thomas, and James Farmer.
Joe Reed
Dr. Joe Reed discusses his career and interactions with Judge Frank Johnson.
Steven Reed
Mayor Steven Reed discusses serving as the first Black mayor of Montgomery, AL and the legacy of Judge Frank Johnson, Jr.
Dorothy Riggins-Allen
Dr. Riggins-Allen discusses being a passenger on the Montgomery City Bus when Claudette Colvin was arrested in 1955.
Solomon Seay, Jr.*
Solomon “Sol” Seay, Jr. was an Alabama native who graduated from Howard Law School and dedicated his life to the practice of civil rights law, beginning in 1957 in Montgomery. His father, Solomon Seay, Sr. was a legendary minister and mentor to Dr. King, and his guidance influenced Sol Seay’s passion to use the law to seek true justice in a Jim Crow south.
John Seigenthalter*
A former president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, John Seigenthaler served for 43 years as an award-winning journalist for The Tennessean, Nashville’s morning newspaper. John Seigenthaler left journalism briefly in the early 1960’s to serve for 2 years in the United States Justice Department as assistant to Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy.
C.T. Vivian*
Reverend C. T. Vivian is one of the principal figures of the Civil Rights Movement, known not simply for his leadership, but for his pioneering sit-in efforts, and his courage during the 1961 freedom rides and 1965 voting rights efforts in Selma, Alabama.