Bernice Johnson Reagon

At a glance

Born 1942-10-04; died 2024-07-16.

Known as: singer, composer, historian, songwriter, and scientist. Citizenship: United States.

Listed as: human.

Who they were

Personal life and death On Sep 30, 1963, Reagon married Cordell Hull Reagon , another member of The Freedom Singers. Before divorcing in 1967, two children were born to this union: a daughter, Toshi, and a son, Kwan. Toshi Reagon is also a singer-songwriter. Kwan Tauna Reagon is a chef. [ 1 ] Reagon's sister Mae Frances Johnson was diagnosed with an inoperable cancer in her early thirties, the treatment of the time, cobalt, greatly reduced the tumor,

Bernice Johnson Reagon was an American song leader, composer, professor of American history, curator at the Smithsonian, and social activist. In the early 1960s, she was a founding member of the Freedom Singers, organized by the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in the Albany Movement for civil rights in Georgia. In 1973, she founded the all-black female a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock, based in Washington, D.C.

Early life

Educated at: Howard University, Spelman College, and Albany State University.

Early life and education Bernice Johnson was born in 1942 in Dougherty County, Georgia , United States. [ 1 ] She was the daughter of Beatrice Wise Johnson, and Jeese Johnson Sr. a Baptist minister. She was born and raised in southwest Georgia, where church and school were an integrated part of her life, with music heavily intertwined in both of those settings. Reagon was the third of seven siblings, Fannie Johnson, Jordan Johnson, Bernice Johnson Reagon, Mae Frances Johnson, Aaron Johnson,

Path and career

Worked with / for: American University and National Museum of American History.

Awards / honours: National Humanities Medal, Thomas Merton Award, Candace Award, and MacArthur Fellows Program.

Career Activism Reagon's first demonstration had been in protest against the arrest of Bertha Gober, and Blanton Hall, organized by SNCC along with the initial arrest of the two individuals, for they planned to be arrested in a discussion during a SNCC meeting. [ 1 ] Reagon was an active participant in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. She was a member of The Freedom Singers, organized by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), for which she also served as a field secretary.

Honors and awards In 1970, a Ford Foundation fellowship at Howard University resulting in a Ph.D. in American history in 1975. In 1989, named a MacArthur Fellow and received their "Genius Grant." In 1991, the Candace Award from the National Coalition of 100 Black Women . [ 1 ] In 1994, a Peabody Award for a 26-part NPR documentary called Wade in the Water. [ 2 ] In 1995, a Charles Frankel Prize for her contributions to the public understanding of the humanities .

Why this date

Bernice Johnson Reagon appears on our July 17 calendar for 2024 as a death entry.