# 99072. Vietnam Vet Recalls Life in 'Bama; Marching With King 

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By Rudi Williams
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON - Blatant, in-your-face discrimination against 
African Americans in his hometown of Selma, Ala., made 
Vincent L. Johnson an angry young man.  

That anger fueled a fire for equality and justice for 
African Americans. He joined in civil rights demonstrations 
and marched Martin Luther King Jr. Now, at age 53, he's 
focusing the energy and lessons learned during the civil 
rights struggle toward building equal opportunity and 
diversity in the Air Force's civilian work force. 

Johnson, a GS-14 personnel management specialist, is chief 
of the disability and black employment programs in the Air 
Force's Human Resources Development Division at the 
Pentagon. His responsibilities include developing and 
implementing policies and procedures for managing 
discrimination complaints. He also coordinates training for 
nearly 360 Air Force equal employment opportunity 
counselors.

He said he didn't personally experience the discrimination 
his family did in Alabama because most of his formative 
years were spent living on Army posts in Germany, Texas, 
Missouri, Virginia and Oklahoma. His father, the late 
retired Army Master Sgt. Vincent L. Johnson, was drafted in 
1944 and served in a trucking outfit overseas during World 
War II. Young Johnson's experiences with racism came during 
vacations with his family in Alabama. 

"I was angry during that period," said Johnson, a 1968 Army 
draftee who earned two Purple Heart Medals as an 
infantryman in Vietnam. "How could I have not been? My 
father and uncles put their lives on the line for their 
country in the military, yet we were treated as less than 
human during that period."

When he visited relatives in Alabama, it was particularly 
galling to him to witnessing the discrimination his aunts 
and uncles endured. One of his aunts was a high school 
teacher, another taught elementary school, and an uncle 
owned a small construction company. 

Even thought they spent their money in white-owned 
businesses, they were not allowed to use any facilities - 
bathrooms, water fountains - and they always had to wait 
until all the white folks were served, Johnson said.  

In comparing life on Army posts to living in Alabama, 
Johnson believes the military led the way for equality and 
fairness for minorities. "The Army gave my father the 
opportunity to grow professionally and as a man," he noted. 
"And the Army got him out of the coal mines."

Being a military dependent changed his outlook on life by 
exposing him to different cultures overseas and providing 
him with the opportunity to attend better schools than 
those open to African Americans in Alabama, Johnson said. 

"I learned very fast that I was just as smart, just as 
athletic and could compete with anyone," he said. He also 
learned to understand how segregation was "hurting the 
country by not using the talents of all our citizens."

He said marching with King taught him that one person could 
make a difference by standing up for what is right and for 
his beliefs. When King led his famous Selma to Montgomery 
march on March 21, 1965, Johnson was among the more than 
8,000 protest marchers starting in Selma. Protected by 
federal troops, they were joined along the way by more than 
25,000 marchers. 

King mobilized and embarrassed the country into changing 
discriminatory practices faster than it would have happened 
otherwise, Johnson said. But he thinks things would have 
eventually changed, but at a much slower pace. 

Johnson returned to Selma in 1970 when his father retired 
and moved back there to live until his death at 88 in 1997. 
Armed with a bachelor's degree in education from Langston 
(Okla.) University, he pursued a master's degree in 
education and a doctorate in guidance and counseling at 
Alabama (Montgomery) State University. 

He said those hated "white only" and "colored only" signs 
are down now and African Americans have made phenomenal 
progress in Alabama, including the political arena. 

Johnson credits DoD and the military services with making 
remarkable strides in improving race relations and opening 
up opportunities for African Americans, other minorities 
and women. "I'm impressed with the progress DoD has made in 
my 20-year civilian career," he said. "DoD should be the 
leader as we are the defenders of freedom for all 
Americans." 

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