Cheryl Johnson Speaks at Christ School

At 14, Cheryl Johnson was one of the first African Americans to enact the Supreme Court’s ruling on Brown vs. the Board of Education. She also inspired the documentary "40 Years Later: Now Can We talk?"

In celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, students braved winter temperatures to serve the Asheville area all week and enjoyed two prominent guest speakers: Dr. Chris Howard and Cheryl Johnson.

Cheryl Johnson was born in the Mississippi Delta when the Southern United States was still heavily practicing racial discrimination and segregation. At 14, she was one of the first African Americans to enact the Supreme Court’s ruling on Brown vs. the Board of Education. This paved the way to desegregate South Panola High School. She graduated from South Panola High in 1969 and went on to attend Howard University and California State University.

In 2009 Ms. Johnson received her first invitation to a high school reunion, forty years after graduating. She looked for someone who could document her and her classmates' experiences as some of the first African Americans to have integrated with the previously all-white school. Ms. Johnson found Dr. Lee Anne Bell, the Director of Education at Barnard College. Dr. Bell accompanied Ms. Johnson to the reunion, where they filmed the documentary “40 Years Later: Now Can We Talk?” 

The film explores the impact of racial integration through dialogue with the alumni from Ms. Johnson's 1969 class. The graduates engaged in honest discourse about their memories of desegregation.

On Wednesday, January 22, Christ School presented a screening of the documentary with the film’s inspiration, Cheryl Johnson. Christ School students were deeply moved by the material and participated in a discussion with Ms. Johnson regarding her experiences with racism. Ms. Johnson said she was very impressed with the boys and their questions and “felt a real connection with them.”

Thank you for visiting us, Ms. Johnson!