Vernon Johns (1892-1965)

Known as the father of the Civil Rights Movement, Vernon Johns was an ordained Baptist minister who served in Virginia and later in Alabama. He was Martin Luther King, Jr.’s predecessor as pastor at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama and was sought for his wise counsel by both King, Jr. and Civil Rights leader Ralph Abernathy. Johns was a passionate and creative preacher with a brilliant mind. As a young man, he taught himself Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and German, and he could recite long passages from the Bible, including Romans in its entirety. When he was turned down by Oberlin Theological Seminary, he protested the decision. The Dean handed him the scripture in Greek and Johns proceeded to read it with such fluency that the decision was reversed.