Louise B. Johnson
Encyclopedia
Louise Brazzel Johnson was a little-known insurance
agent in Bernice
in Union Parish who rocketed to state prominence when she upset the Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives
in the 1971 Democratic
primary. Johnson unseated 24-year incumbent John Sidney Garrett
of Haynesville
in Claiborne Parish to win the nomination for the District 11 seat in the legislature. She was particularly known for her opposition to the proposed Equal Rights Amendment
.
After she defeated Garrett, Mrs. Johnson faced Gene Allen, the first Republican
to seek the seat in modern times. She won overwhelmingly, 7,143 votes (74.8 percent) to Allen's 2,410 (25.2 percent). She served one term until 1976, and was succeeded by her fellow Democrat, Loy F. Weaver
, a former Federal Bureau of Investigation
agent from Homer
, the seat of Claiborne Parish.
In the nonpartisan blanket primary held on November 1, 1975, Johnson sought the District 35 state Senate seat then held by K.D. Kilpatrick
, a funeral home
director from Ruston
in Lincoln Parish
. She ran strongly enough to enter the general election held on December 13, 1975, against her intraparty rival, former state Senator Charles C. Barham
of Ruston. Barham, Kilpatrick's predecessor in the Senate and a son of former state Senator and Lieutenant Governor
(1952–1956) Charles E. "Cap" Barham, polled 16,878 votes (52.4 percent) to Mrs. Johnson's 15,385 ballots (47.6 percent). Barham's Senate service extended from 1964–1972 and again from 1976–1988, when he was succeeded by Randy Ewing
, a Democrat from Quitman
in Jackson Parish
. Barham was a supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment, a defining difference between the candidates. He also carried the backing of organized labor and the majority of the African American
community.
On October 27, 1979, Mrs. Johnson ran unsuccessfully in a bid to regain her previous state House seat. She received 5,422 votes (38.5 percent) to the 7,093 ballots (50.4 percent) garnered by incumbent Loy Weaver. Two other candidates split the remaining 11.2 percent of the vote. Weaver was among a field of candidates who had run unsuccessfully in 1978 for the Fourth Congressional District seat vacated by Democrat Joseph David "Joe D." Waggonner, Jr.
, of Bossier Parish.
in Lincoln Parish. She graduated at the age of sixteen as the valedictorian
of Hico High School
in Lincoln Parish and later from Chillicothe
Business College in Livingston County in northern Missouri
. She thereafter graduated magna cum laude from Louisiana Tech University
in Ruston, where she obtained both bachelor of arts
and master of arts
degrees. She studied abroad at the University of London
.
Prior to the organization of her successful Bernice Insurance Agency near Ruston, she had worked at radio
stations KDTL and KWFM in Farmerville
, the seat of Union Parish. She was also an award-winning flower
arranger.
on the "Status of Women in the Western Hemisphere." She was among the more conservative
speakers at the gathering, many of whom looked to government action to address gender inequities in society. Johnson took the view that government could do relatively little to ease inequities and might in fact make the situation worse. Such thinking led her to fight ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, much to the consternation of many Democratic women.
On June 30, 1982, Mrs. Johnson addressed a luncheon in the Royale Rouge Hotel
in Baton Rouge to mark the defeat of the ERA, which fell three states short of ratification. Present and past House members who were instrumental in the defeat of the amendment were presented with certificates. Joining Mrs. Johnson in addressing the conference was the then Speaker of the Louisiana House, Democrat (later Republican) John J. Hainkel, Jr.
, of New Orleans.
Mrs. Johnson said that history must remember the persecution that opponents of ERA, such as herself, endured. She recalled "personal vendettas; some of our leaders suffered for the cause. Our lives were threatened more times than you've got fingers and toes." She expressed her belief that God placed her in the legislature specifically to fight ratification of the ERA. Mrs. Johnson contended that the ERA would have federalized state laws in regard to the family and would have empowered federal judges to "legislative" their personal views through means of a generally-worded amendment.
Long after she had left public office, Mrs. Johnson wrote a 50th anniversary tribute to the women who had served in the Louisiana legislature. Her papers are in the archive
s of her alma mater, Louisiana Tech. Tech honors Johnson through the "Louise B. Johnson Graduate Scholarship
", which is awarded to a female graduate student in the field of history who, for her master's thesis, is researching the role of women in Louisiana. A similar scholarship in history is named for the late Tech professor
Morgan D. Peoples
.
to cease cutting trees on the property and to help with the restoration of the monument. Still a legislator, she introduced a bill to cede the state's part of the property to the state parks system. Governor Edwin Washington Edwards signed what became Act 734 of 1975, and a rededication ceremony was held in which he and Johnson planted a tree. Months later, Arkansas sold its part of the land to the Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation. Since that time, chunks of the monument were lost or spray-painted by vandals.
The monument was established in 1931 by former Arkansas Governor George Washington Donaghey
(1856–1937), who was born in Union Parish and grew up in the border area before he moved as a teenager to Conway
, Arkansas. As governor, he oversaw the construction of the state capitol building in Little Rock
and brought about the establishment of agricultural colleges. After his gubernatorial tenure, Donaghey, who felt a kinship to both states, commissioned a park on the land about the monument, having invested his own money in the project. Known for its intricate carvings and Art Deco
style, the monument includes references to different modes of transportation in 1831 and 1931 and mentions Huey P. Long, Jr., whose educational program Donaghey admired. The land was not registered with state parks offices in either state, timber companies cut trees thereabouts, and the monument was forgotten until 2009, when restoration efforts were unveiled.
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
agent in Bernice
Bernice, Louisiana
Bernice is a town in Union Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 1,809 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Monroe Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
in Union Parish who rocketed to state prominence when she upset the Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives
Louisiana House of Representatives
The Louisiana House of Representatives is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Louisiana. The House is composed of 105 Representatives, each of whom represents approximately 42,500 people . Members serve four-year terms with a term limit of...
in the 1971 Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
primary. Johnson unseated 24-year incumbent John Sidney Garrett
John Sidney Garrett
John Sidney Garrett was a conservative Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives who served from 1948 to 1972 under four gubernatorial administrations. Garrett was a successful businessman in the small town of Haynesville in Claiborne Parish south of the Arkansas state line...
of Haynesville
Haynesville, Louisiana
Haynesville is a town in northern Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, United States, located just south of the Arkansas border. The population was 2,679 at the 2000 census....
in Claiborne Parish to win the nomination for the District 11 seat in the legislature. She was particularly known for her opposition to the proposed Equal Rights Amendment
Equal Rights Amendment
The Equal Rights Amendment was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution. The ERA was originally written by Alice Paul and, in 1923, it was introduced in the Congress for the first time...
.
After she defeated Garrett, Mrs. Johnson faced Gene Allen, the first Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
to seek the seat in modern times. She won overwhelmingly, 7,143 votes (74.8 percent) to Allen's 2,410 (25.2 percent). She served one term until 1976, and was succeeded by her fellow Democrat, Loy F. Weaver
Loy F. Weaver
Loy Frank Weaver is a retired banker from Homer, the seat of Claiborne Parish in north Louisiana, who served as a Democrat in the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1976-1984...
, a former Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
agent from Homer
Homer, Louisiana
Homer is present day parish seat of Claiborne Parish, Louisiana, United States. The town was named after the Greek poet Homer and was laid out around the Courthouse Square in 1850 by Frank Vaughn. The present day brick courthouse, built in the Greek Revival style of architecture, is one of only...
, the seat of Claiborne Parish.
In the nonpartisan blanket primary held on November 1, 1975, Johnson sought the District 35 state Senate seat then held by K.D. Kilpatrick
K.D. Kilpatrick
Kenneth Dale Kilpatrick, Sr., known as K.D. Kilpatrick , was a funeral home owner in Ruston, Louisiana, who served as a Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate for a single term from 1972 to 1976...
, a funeral home
Funeral home
A funeral home, funeral parlor or mortuary, is a business that provides burial and funeral services for the deceased and their families. These services may include aprepared wake and funeral, and the provision of a chapel for the funeral....
director from Ruston
Ruston, Louisiana
Ruston is a city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 20,546 at the 2000 census. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Its economy caters to its college population...
in Lincoln Parish
Lincoln Parish, Louisiana
Lincoln Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Ruston. In 2004, its population was estimated to be 42,382...
. She ran strongly enough to enter the general election held on December 13, 1975, against her intraparty rival, former state Senator Charles C. Barham
Charles C. Barham
Charles Clem "Charlie" Barham was an attorney in private practice for thirty-nine years in Ruston, Louisiana, and a Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate from District 35, nonconsecutively, from 1964 to 1972 and 1976 to 1988.He was the older son of Lieutenant Governor C.E...
of Ruston. Barham, Kilpatrick's predecessor in the Senate and a son of former state Senator and Lieutenant Governor
Lieutenant governor
A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...
(1952–1956) Charles E. "Cap" Barham, polled 16,878 votes (52.4 percent) to Mrs. Johnson's 15,385 ballots (47.6 percent). Barham's Senate service extended from 1964–1972 and again from 1976–1988, when he was succeeded by Randy Ewing
Randy Ewing
Randy Lew Ewing is a Jackson Parish businessman who, as a Democrat, represented District 35 in the Louisiana State Senate from 1988 to 2000. He was the State Senate President in his last term from 1996 to 2000, which corresponded with the first term of Republican Governor Murphy J...
, a Democrat from Quitman
Quitman, Louisiana
Quitman is a village in Jackson Parish, Louisiana, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 168. Quitman is south of Ruston on U.S. Highway 167, and north of Jonesboro, the parish seat of Jackson Parish...
in Jackson Parish
Jackson Parish, Louisiana
Jackson Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish was formed in 1845 from parts of Claiborne, Ouachita, and Union Parishes. In 2010, its population was 16,274. The parish seat is Jonesboro...
. Barham was a supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment, a defining difference between the candidates. He also carried the backing of organized labor and the majority of the African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
community.
On October 27, 1979, Mrs. Johnson ran unsuccessfully in a bid to regain her previous state House seat. She received 5,422 votes (38.5 percent) to the 7,093 ballots (50.4 percent) garnered by incumbent Loy Weaver. Two other candidates split the remaining 11.2 percent of the vote. Weaver was among a field of candidates who had run unsuccessfully in 1978 for the Fourth Congressional District seat vacated by Democrat Joseph David "Joe D." Waggonner, Jr.
Joe Waggonner
Joseph David Waggonner, Jr. , better known as Joe D. Waggonner, was a Democratic U.S. Representative from Bossier Parish who represented the old 4th Congressional District of northwest Louisiana from December 1961 until January 1979. He was also a confidant of Republican U.S...
, of Bossier Parish.
Early years and education
Louise Johnson was born in DubachDubach, Louisiana
Dubach is a town in Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 800 at the 2000 census. Dubach High School, located centrally in the town, is noted for fielding good athletic teams in basketball and often defeats teams from much larger towns and cities...
in Lincoln Parish. She graduated at the age of sixteen as the valedictorian
Valedictorian
Valedictorian is an academic title conferred upon the student who delivers the closing or farewell statement at a graduation ceremony. Usually, the valedictorian is the highest ranked student among those graduating from an educational institution...
of Hico High School
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
in Lincoln Parish and later from Chillicothe
Chillicothe, Missouri
Chillicothe is a city in and the county seat of Livingston County, Missouri, United States. The population was 9,515 at the 2010 census. The name "Chillicothe" is Shawnee for "big town", and was named after their Chillicothe, located since 1774 about a mile from the present-day city.Chillicothe is...
Business College in Livingston County in northern Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
. She thereafter graduated magna cum laude from Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University
Louisiana Tech University, often referred to as Louisiana Tech, LA Tech, or Tech, is a coeducational public research university located in Ruston, Louisiana. Louisiana Tech is designated as a Tier 1 school in the national universities category by the 2012 U.S. News & World Report college rankings...
in Ruston, where she obtained both bachelor of arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
and master of arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degrees. She studied abroad at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
.
Prior to the organization of her successful Bernice Insurance Agency near Ruston, she had worked at radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
stations KDTL and KWFM in Farmerville
Farmerville, Louisiana
Farmerville is a town in and the parish seat of Union Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 3,808 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Monroe Metropolitan Statistical Area...
, the seat of Union Parish. She was also an award-winning flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
arranger.
Avowed opponent of the ERA
While in office, Representative Johnson moderated a Hemispheric Conference in MiamiMiami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
on the "Status of Women in the Western Hemisphere." She was among the more conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
speakers at the gathering, many of whom looked to government action to address gender inequities in society. Johnson took the view that government could do relatively little to ease inequities and might in fact make the situation worse. Such thinking led her to fight ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, much to the consternation of many Democratic women.
On June 30, 1982, Mrs. Johnson addressed a luncheon in the Royale Rouge Hotel
Hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
in Baton Rouge to mark the defeat of the ERA, which fell three states short of ratification. Present and past House members who were instrumental in the defeat of the amendment were presented with certificates. Joining Mrs. Johnson in addressing the conference was the then Speaker of the Louisiana House, Democrat (later Republican) John J. Hainkel, Jr.
John Hainkel
John Joseph Hainkel, Jr., was a gregarious, ruffled, and raspy-voiced legislator from New Orleans who died in office after thirty-seven years of service...
, of New Orleans.
Mrs. Johnson said that history must remember the persecution that opponents of ERA, such as herself, endured. She recalled "personal vendettas; some of our leaders suffered for the cause. Our lives were threatened more times than you've got fingers and toes." She expressed her belief that God placed her in the legislature specifically to fight ratification of the ERA. Mrs. Johnson contended that the ERA would have federalized state laws in regard to the family and would have empowered federal judges to "legislative" their personal views through means of a generally-worded amendment.
Long after she had left public office, Mrs. Johnson wrote a 50th anniversary tribute to the women who had served in the Louisiana legislature. Her papers are in the archive
Archive
An archive is a collection of historical records, or the physical place they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organization's lifetime, and are kept to show the function of an organization...
s of her alma mater, Louisiana Tech. Tech honors Johnson through the "Louise B. Johnson Graduate Scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
", which is awarded to a female graduate student in the field of history who, for her master's thesis, is researching the role of women in Louisiana. A similar scholarship in history is named for the late Tech professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
Morgan D. Peoples
Morgan D. Peoples
Morgan Dewey Peoples was a historian who coauthored with Michael L. Kurtz the definitive biography of the late Louisiana Governor Earl Kemp Long. Peoples was a member of the Louisiana Tech University at Ruston history department faculty from 1965 until his retirement in 1985...
.
Historic Union Parish monument
In 1975, an employee of the Louisiana Department of Transportation came across an abandoned nomument separating Union Parish and Union County, Arkansas, and related his discovery to Representative Johnson. In an article for the North Louisiana Historical Association Journal (since North Louisiana History), Johnson explained that she asked the Olinkraft Timber Company of West MonroeWest Monroe, Louisiana
West Monroe is a city in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 13,250 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Monroe Metropolitan Statistical Area....
to cease cutting trees on the property and to help with the restoration of the monument. Still a legislator, she introduced a bill to cede the state's part of the property to the state parks system. Governor Edwin Washington Edwards signed what became Act 734 of 1975, and a rededication ceremony was held in which he and Johnson planted a tree. Months later, Arkansas sold its part of the land to the Olin Mathieson Chemical Corporation. Since that time, chunks of the monument were lost or spray-painted by vandals.
The monument was established in 1931 by former Arkansas Governor George Washington Donaghey
George Washington Donaghey
George Washington Donaghey was the 22nd Governor of the U.S. state of Arkansas from 1909 to 1913.George W. Donaghey was born in Oakland, Union Parish, Louisiana. From 1882 to 1883, Donaghey attended the University of Arkansas. He was a school teacher, carpenter, and studied both architecture and...
(1856–1937), who was born in Union Parish and grew up in the border area before he moved as a teenager to Conway
Conway, Arkansas
Conway is the county seat of Faulkner County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 58,908 at the 2010 census, making Conway the seventh most populous city in Arkansas. It is a principal city of the Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area which had...
, Arkansas. As governor, he oversaw the construction of the state capitol building in Little Rock
Little Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
and brought about the establishment of agricultural colleges. After his gubernatorial tenure, Donaghey, who felt a kinship to both states, commissioned a park on the land about the monument, having invested his own money in the project. Known for its intricate carvings and Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
style, the monument includes references to different modes of transportation in 1831 and 1931 and mentions Huey P. Long, Jr., whose educational program Donaghey admired. The land was not registered with state parks offices in either state, timber companies cut trees thereabouts, and the monument was forgotten until 2009, when restoration efforts were unveiled.