Mordecai Wyatt Johnson was an American educator and pastor.
Background
Johnson was born in Paris, Tennessee, the son of former slaves Reverend Wyatt J. Johnson and Carolyn Freeman. Johnson was born on January 12, 1890, in Paris, Tennessee. His father, Wyatt Johnson, was a preacher and mill worker
His mother was a domestic worker for one of the prominent families in town.
Education
He studied at several other institutions of higher education, including the Rochester Theological Seminary, Harvard University, Howard University, and the Gammon Theological Seminary.
Career
He served as the first black president of Howard University, from 1926 until 1960. Johnson has been considered one of the three leading African-American preachers of the early 20th-century, along with Vernon Johns and Howard Thurman. Johnson received his Bachelor of Arts from Morehouse College in 1911, and second bachelor of arts degree from the University of Chicago two years later.
They had five children: Carolyn Elizabeth Johnson, Mordecai Wyatt Johnson, Junior., Archer Clement Johnson, William Howard Johnson, and Anna Faith Johnson.
Following a brief stint as secretary of the western region of the Student Young Men"s Christian Association (Young Men’s Christian Association), in 1917 he became pastor of the First Baptist Church in Charleston, West Virginia. He later founded a chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People).
On June 26, 1926, at the age of 36, Johnson was unanimously elected the eleventh President of Howard University, becoming the first African American to serve as the permanent head of that institution. He served until 1960.
Prior to his appointment Johnson had served as Professor of Economics and History at Morehouse.
He had also served as Pastor of the First Baptist Church in Charleston, West Virginia. During his tenure, Johnson appointed Charles Hamilton Houston as dean of the law school. Johnson raised millions of dollars for new buildings and for upgrading all of the schools.
National honor societies, including Phi Beta Kappa, were established on the campus of Howard.
During his administration, it was said that Howard had the greatest collection of African American scholars to be found anywhere. Notable scholars at Howard included: Alain Locke, a philosopher and a Rhodes Scholar from Harvard University, Ralph Bunche, professor of political science and later a Nobel Laureate.
Charles Drew, who perfected the use of blood plasma. Percy Julian, a noted chemistry
And Sterling Brown, professor of English and noted Harlem Renaissance poet.
Enrollment at Howard University increased from 2,000 in 1926 to more than 10,000 in 1960. After 34 years of service and bringing the university into national prominence, Johnson retired from the presidency of Howard University in 1960. He traveled 25,000 miles a year throughout the country speaking principally on topics such as racism, segregation, and discrimination.
Mordecai Wyatt Johnson died on September 10, 1976, at the age of 86, in Washington, District of Columbia
Membership
In 1951 he was a member of the American delegation to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) that met in London.