From a young age Dr. Shirley Bailey Johnson was involved in the Civil-Rights Movement. At seventeen Johnson traveled by bus from Jackson, Mississippi to Washington D. C to attend the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. The then teenager traveled for 20 hours along with others to listen to Martin Luther King Jr’s., “I Have a Dream” speech. Fifty-three years later, Johnson is now the President and Education Chair of the NAACP Miami-Dade branch. She uses her platform and knowledge to help guide the youth and resolve social injustices against African Americans and people of color.
Johnson grew up with a father who was a President of the NAACP Jackson branch in Mississippi, Samuel Bailey, and a godfather who was a renowned civil-rights activist, Medgar Evers. Coming from a family of activists, she learned what the most effective way to protest was. Protesting in a non-violent way.
Recently in Omaha, Nebraska, 3 University of Nebraska-Lincoln football players used this method of protesting. They kneeled in solidarity during the national anthem of a football game to shed light on social injustices African Americans, and people of color face. The players received scrutiny for their actions from people who live and work in Nebraska, and from people around the nation. Some of the responses they received comprised of threats.
Similar to the 3 UNL football players (Michael Rose-Ivey, DaiShon Neal, and Mohamed Barry), Johnson was involved in planning and performing similar actions. The purpose of the actions was to force people (in a non-violent way) to listen to the voices of wanting justice and equality for African Americans. She and others received backlash as well.
Reflecting on when she got sprayed with water and arrested by the police after a non-violent protest in 1963, Johnson told Orlando Sentinel, “We just held on to each other the best we could. We were a chain that would not be broken. This protest came from the depths of our souls.”
As a teenager in the 1960s, Johnson was arrested several times for taking part in demonstrations that supported desegregation. The actions performed by Johnson and the 3 football players from UNL can be considered parallel. Both sets of individuals had beliefs that were similar.
Fifty-plus years later, African Americans are still protesting for justice and equality. People like Dr. Johnson and the 3 UNL football players are using their platform to help resolve the issue. For over 40 years, Johnson was an employee in the MDCPS school district. She used her position as a teacher (one of many jobs she had with MDCPS) to help mentor the youth and keep them away from “ignorance”.
Now as the president and education chair for the NAACP Miami-Dade branch, she passes along her wisdom to the youth, those in college, and anyone else willing to listen.