Johnnie Jones (lawyer)

Johnnie A. Jones
Member of the
Louisiana House of Representatives from East Baton Rouge Parish
In office
1972–1976
Serving with Arthur F. Abadie, Richard Baker, Warren Davis Folkes, E. Clark Gaudin, Woody Jenkins, Kevin P. Reilly, Frank P. Simoneaux, Richard Turnley
Personal details
Born
Johnnie Anderson Jones

(1919-11-30)November 30, 1919
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.
DiedApril 23, 2022(2022-04-23) (aged 102)
Jackson, Louisiana, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic[1]
Alma materSouthern University
Occupation
  • Warrant officer
  • Civil rights attorney
  • State legislator

Johnnie Anderson Jones Sr. (November 30, 1919 – April 23, 2022) was an American politician, soldier, and civil rights attorney associated with the 1953 Baton Rouge bus boycott, the first anti-segregation bus boycott, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.[2] This was a precursor to the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott led by Martin Luther King Jr. in Montgomery, Alabama.

Jones was the second African American U.S. Army warrant officer.[3][4] In 2021, he received a Purple Heart, 77 years after he was injured by shrapnel during Operation Overlord, the D-Day invasion of Omaha Beach in World War II.[5][6][7]

Jones served as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1972 to 1976.[4]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference memberguide was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Hawkins, Jacques (December 2, 2020). "Honor Luncheon for Civil Rights Attorney Mr. Johnnie Jones, Sr." Build Baton Rouge.
  3. ^ Jones, Sr., Johnnie (2021). On the Road to Equality. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. p. 65.
  4. ^ a b COUVILLION, ELLYN (June 26, 2021). "WWII veteran-turned-civil rights lawyer from Baton Rouge awarded Purple Heart". The Advocate.
  5. ^ U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. "Johnnie Jones, civil rights icon, gets Purple Heart 77 years after World War II wounds: Instrumental in groundbreaking 1953 Baton Rouge bus boycott".
  6. ^ Matt Wake (June 27, 2021). "101-year-old World War II veteran finally receives Purple Heart". Stars and Stripes. AL.COM.
  7. ^ Brading, Thomas (April 28, 2021). "World War II veterans to receive Purple Hearts decades after war". U.S. Army News Service.