"Edward Austin Johnson"(1860-1944)

 Was a businessman,historian,educator,lawyer and politician.Born enslaved in Raleigh North Carolina his parents Columbus and Eliza Johnson,had twelve children.He was educated by Nancy Walton a free African American woman who also taught white children from wealthy families.He completed Washington High School for Negroes in Raleigh.Originally planning to attend Oberlin,Edward decided instead to attend Atlanta University in 1878 after meeting one of the universities first graduates.He began attending Atlanta University in 1879 while simultaneously teaching in rural Houston County Georgia and running a barbershop.After leaving Atlanta University in 1883,he taught in the Atlanta public school system and eventually became a principal.Edward returned to Raleigh in 1885 and remained there until 1907.He was named principal of Washington High School in 1885,a post he held until 1891.In 1886 he participated in the North Carolina Negro Teachers Association,and organization that demanded separate but equal high schools and regular schools for African Americans throughout the state.In 1888he began studying law at Shaw University's Law Department in Raleigh.He earned his LL.B degree in 1891,becoming the school's first graduate.Due to his excellent academic record,Edward joined the faculty in Shaw's Law Department and rose to the post of dean of the department by 1907.In 1894 married Lena Allen Kennedy,the great-granddaughter of the Rev.Richard Allen,founder of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church.The couple had one daughter Adelaide.Studying teaching and his interest in law led him into politics.He served as an elected alderman in Raleigh from 1897 to 1899.He was also  appointed clerk of the federal district attorney clerk of the federal district attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina,a post he held until 1907 and for which he received $900 per year.He was dedicated Republican who served as chair of the GOP in the 4th Congressional District.He was also a delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1892,1896 and 1900.President Theodore Roosevelt made an honorary brigadier general in his inaugural parade.Edward is best known as an author.In 1890,at the urging of the Raleigh School Superintendent,he published the popular children's text book,A School History of the Negro Race in America from 1619 to 1890.The Superintendent convinced Edward that that were was a need for a history book of African American achievements for children.The book is adopted by Virginia and North Carolina black schools,gained him national notoriety.It had several errors,A School History was published in four editions until 1911.In 1899 he wrote a second textbook,History of the Negro Soldiers in the Spanish American War and other items of interest.It was followed five years later by the Utopian novel,Light Ahead for the Negro,which was predicted that anti-black discrimination would end in one century.In 1900 Edward was a founder of the National Negro Business League with Booker T. Washington at at a time when he was one of the largest property owners in Raleigh.Despite his success,Edward chafed under racial discrimination in North Carolina and moved to New York City's Harlem 1907.He was admitted to the New York bar and continued his activities