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SR 541 - Leroy Johnson-Fulton Industrial Blvd. - designate

Tate, Horacena (38th)	Fort, Vincent D (39th)	James, Donzella (35th)

Status Summary	SC:	Trans	HC:	Trans	FR:	02/10/00	LA:	05/01/00	Signed by Governor

First Reader Summary

A resolution designating the "Leroy Johnson-Fulton Industrial Boulevard"; and for other purposes.

SR 541 00                                          LC 19 4570 
 
      SENATE RESOLUTION 541 
 
      By:  Senators Tate of the 38th, Fort of the 39th, 
           James of the 35th and others 
 
                             A RESOLUTION 
 
  1- 1  Designating the "Leroy Johnson-Fulton Industrial Boulevard"; 
  1- 2  and for other purposes. 
 
  1- 3  WHEREAS, Leroy R. Johnson is a native son of Atlanta, 
  1- 4  Georgia, who 38 years ago became the first black member of 
  1- 5  the Georgia Senate since Reconstruction; and 
 
  1- 6  WHEREAS, Mr. Johnson graduated from Morehouse College and 
  1- 7  went on to earn a master's degree from Atlanta University in 
  1- 8  1951 and a law degree from the North Carolina School of Law 
  1- 9  in 1957; and 
 
  1-10  WHEREAS, upon admission to the Georgia bar, Mr. Johnson 
  1-11  became the first black lawyer in the southeast to be 
  1-12  employed on the United States District Attorney's staff for 
  1-13  the Fifth Judicial District--Fulton County, Atlanta, 
  1-14  Georgia; and 
 
  1-15  WHEREAS, it was in 1962 that Leroy Johnson achieved a first 
  1-16  in Georgia history when he was elected to the Georgia Senate 
  1-17  from the 38th District in Fulton County; and 
 
  1-18  WHEREAS, during his tenure in the Senate, he rose to the 
  1-19  chairmanship of the Fulton County Senate delegation and 
  1-20  became the first black person ever to head a legislative 
  1-21  delegation in the state; and 
 
  1-22  WHEREAS, in 1969, Senator Johnson became the first black 
  1-23  person to be named chairman of a standing committee in the 
  1-24  General Assembly; and 
 
  1-25  WHEREAS, he reached the peak of his legislative influence 
  1-26  when he was appointed chairman of the Senate Judiciary 
  1-27  Committee in 1970, serving in that position until he left 
  1-28  the Senate in 1974; and 
 
  1-29  WHEREAS, a man with a deep sense of civic responsibility, he 
  1-30  received the NAACP's 1963 Freedom Award and in that year was 
  1-31  also honored as one of Atlanta's Five Outstanding Young Men 
  1-32  by the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce; he was awarded the 1986 
  1-33  "Minority Business Utilization Award" by the Atlanta 
  1-34  Business League; and he is listed in the 1984 edition of 
  1-35  Who's Who in Black America; and 
 
 
 
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  2- 1  WHEREAS, he is a member of the board of trustees of the 
  2- 2  Ebenezer Baptist Church, a founding member of the board of 
  2- 3  directors of the Atlanta Enquirer newspaper, a past 
  2- 4  president of the Georgia Association of Citizens' Democratic 
  2- 5  Clubs, and chairman of the trustee board of the Butler 
  2- 6  Street YMCA; and 
 
  2- 7  WHEREAS, Mr. Johnson is a 33rd degree Mason, a member of Phi 
  2- 8  Beta Sigma fraternity, Kappa Boule, and a long-time member 
  2- 9  of the Georgia Bar Association, the National Bar 
  2-10  Association, and the Gate City Bar Association; and 
 
  2-11  WHEREAS, he is married to the former Cleopatra Whittington, 
  2-12  and they have one son, Michael V. Johnson; and 
 
  2-13  WHEREAS, in 1995, the Georgia Senate honored Mr. Johnson by 
  2-14  passing a resolution authorizing the display of his portrait 
  2-15  in the state capitol; and 
 
  2-16  WHEREAS, it is only fitting and proper that Leroy R. 
  2-17  Johnson, a man of integrity and vision and a trailblazer, 
  2-18  should be recognized and honored for his achievements. 
 
  2-19  NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF 
  2-20  GEORGIA that that portion of Fulton Industrial Boulevard 
  2-21  from its intersection with Bankhead Highway to Interstate 20 
  2-22  in Fulton County is designated "Leroy Johnson-Fulton 
  2-23  Industrial Boulevard". 
 
  2-24  BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Transportation 
  2-25  is authorized and directed to erect and maintain appropriate 
  2-26  signs so designating said roadway. 
 
  2-27  BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate is 
  2-28  authorized and directed to transmit an appropriate copy of 
  2-29  this resolution to Leroy R. Johnson. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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