The Rev. Dr. Charles Johnson once said, “You have to rise above your adversaries and their meanness, and their ways, and be an example so that you can help someone else. You must possess what you profess.”

Rev. Johnson, a Civil Rights leader and pastor of Fitkins Church of the Nazarene in Meridian, passed away Wednesday, Jan. 12, and there can be no doubt about the qualities he possessed in his 83 years of living.

Rev. Johnson moved to Meridian in 1961 at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, the summer of the Freedom Rides in the South. Fresh out of Bible College in Institute, West Virginia, Rev. Johnson worked with many activists during this time to secure voting rights for African Americans.

He shared a platform with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., traveling to Philadelphia with Dr. King after the murders of Michael Schwerner, James Chaney, and Andrew Goodman. In 1967, Rev. Johnson was a witness for the prosecution in the “Mississippi Burning” trial. His testimony played a key role in the Department of Justice’s case, offering clarity to the event that led to passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

In 2010, Rev. Johnson reflected on the Mississippi Burning case in an interview with The Meridian Star.

“Because of their deaths, we have today in Mississippi, more elected African American officials than in any state in the Union,” he said, speaking of Schwerner, Chaney and Goodman. “Because of their deaths, people have come together. We must not forget where we come from. We must not forget what we have been through. Because when we forget, we are subject to make the same mistakes again.”

Many consider Rev. Johnson one of Meridian’s last remaining Civil Rights activists from that era, including fellow activist Roscoe Jones.

“I was a student during this time, and Rev. Johnson was one of my elders,” Jones recalled. “We would meet at his church in the early stages of the movement. I watched him as he worked, both as a pastor and an advocate. His commitment to Civil Rights is the epitome of what a man ought to do. He will be greatly missed. I hope people will try to understand him because not enough is known about his being a foot soldier. He didn’t work for the accolades; he represented the common man, yet he could mingle with those on top.”

‘We must not forget’

‘We must not forget’

Editor’s note: These words from Rev. Charles Johnson are taken from a speech he gave on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Meridian in 2016. In his speech, Rev. Johnson urged the audience to remember the past while embracing the future.

“We must not forget where we come from – we must not forget what we have been through. Because when we forget, we are subject to make the same mistakes again.”

“Dr. King didn’t just talk it — he lived it, his concern would always be would our people ever learn that no man is going us our freedom — we are going to have to demand our freedom.”

“We must not forget…not in anger, not in vengeance, but we must remember so we can correct whatever we need to correct and get things moving along for our young people so they won’t have to go through what we go through.”

While writing his book, “Called to the Fire: A Witness for God in Mississippi, The Story of Dr. Charles Johnson,” University of Mississippi professor and pastor Chet Bush had many conversations with Rev. Johnson.

“We shared many common interests,” Bush recalled.”He was a wonderful friend and mentor. We were connected as colleagues when I was in my late 30s, and he was in his early 70s. He was the most patient person, looking to help a young man who wanted to serve his community.

“He taught me to see the world more clearly, and the story of life, so deeply rooted in the freedom struggles, is a testament to his commitment to love and friendship,” Bush added. “He was a beautiful soul, a beautiful person, and my condolences go to his family and Fitkin’s Memorial Church of the Nazarene, his church family.”

Angela Bell describes growing up in the Johnson household with her siblings, Nikki, Amelia, Charles Jr., Sheryl, Christina, Janyce and Deborah (now deceased).

Rev. Johnson and his beloved wife, Shirley, were married for nearly 50 years.

“Our parents taught us to not see the differences in people because of their race, their money,” she recalled. “They kept much of the negativity of that time away from us because we were children. Today, I realize what an impact he had on me. I would not be the person I am today because of his influence.”

Throughout his life, Rev. Johnson focused on opportunities and equality for all and his work in the church. In 1984, he established the Black Leadership Conference, and in 1986, he was given an Honorary Doctorate by Trevecca Nazarene College (now University) in Nashville.

In June 2011, he was awarded the Miko Award for Civil Rights and Social Justice at the first annual National Civil Rights Conference. In September of that same year, Meridian celebrated Rev. Johnson with a street named Dr. Charles Johnson Avenue in his honor.

Ecclesiastes Goodwin, a 2002 graduate of Meridian High School, remembers Rev. Johnson’s deep impact on his life.

“Dr. Johnson took a chance on me and gave me my first job in the funeral industry at Enterprise Funeral Home,” he remembered. “He was a leader, trailblazer, Civil Rights activist and would help anyone he could. For many years, I worked alongside him in the Ministerial Alliance, and he imparted great words of wisdom to me.”

In his 60 years of serving his local church and the greater Meridian community, Johnson’s ministry produced dozens of pastors of many denominations now serving their own churches all over the United States.

“He was an enormous mentor, a father figure,” said The Rev. Gary Houston, pastor at North Side Church of the Nazarene. “He would believe in you until you were able to believe in yourself. He wanted everyone to succeed, no matter their race or religion. He could talk to anyone, whether a government official or a person on the street. He was a genuine person.”

Houston recalls when he and Rev. Johnson first met.

“I was riding my bike when I was a child; I was with my older brother,” he said. “I was struck by a car in the middle of 29th Avenue, and I immediately ran into [Johnson’s] front lawn. I remember looking over, seeing him, and he was trying to help me breathe. God connected us that day, and his connection has been so meaningful to me throughout my life.”

The Rev. Eugene Boger, former president of the Meridian/Lauderdale County NAACP and pastor at Saint Paul and Saint Elizabeth Churches in Meridian, says Johnson was one of the first people to reach out to him when he moved here from Atlanta five years ago.

“[Johnson] lavishly shared the realities of what was going on back in that time, the challenges in the ministry and Civil Rights,” he said. “He saw no distinction between one’s spiritual well-being and temporal affairs. He was a primary source of history for me, and I will miss his influence, as will all of Meridian.”