15 JAN 07: THE OTHER BIG FRANK

A happy Martin Luther King Day to you. This could have been the fourth three-day holiday weekend in a row - but for some reason, the calls for making Elvis Presley's January 8 birthday a national holiday never caught on.

Did your church congregation do anything special this weekend to remember M.L.K. Day? He never came up in the place where I worship. Some people consider the holiday a bit like Labor Day - a day given to the liberals, to balance out Memorial Day and Veterans Day for flag-waving conservatives.

The calendar on our announcement table at church didn't have much written on it in 2006. A teenager noted Labor Day was when Steve Irwin was killed. And someone else wrote on October 30: "BIRTHDAY, FRANK M. JOHNSON, TRUE FATHER OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT." No, we didn't mark that day, either - and to be evenhanded, we didn't mark Halloween the next day.

I think I know who wrote in the birthday of Frank Johnson. The man told me about Johnson a year or two ago, when I wished him a happy King Day. It was the first I'd heard of Johnson -- and I actually tried to pay attention to those "Black History Month" messages they used to show on TV.

It turns out Frank Minis Johnson was a white man -- a federal judge from central Alabama. "He did more to advance the civil rights movement than Doctor King ever did," my friend at church told me. And here's the most amazing thing - my friend is African-American. It's as strange as today's Atlanta M.L.K. anniversary featuring Senator Saxby Chambliss.

I did a Wikipedia search this weekend to see if my friend was right about Judge Frank Johnson. Sure enough, his biography features a Bill Moyers quote that he "altered forever the face of the South." But then again, so did whoever decided to build the Aflac tower on Wynnton Road....

Judge Frank Johnson actually made the cover of "Time" magazine for some of his rulings in Alabama. One of his first decisions was to order the integration of Montgomery's public transportation system in 1956. Well, it actually WAS integrated back then - because all races were allowed on the same buses, only with different seats.

It was Judge Frank Johnson who used a Macon County, Alabama case to order the desegregation of Alabama's public schools in 1963. I'm not sure if Tuskegee University has achieved racial balance yet, but....

It was Judge Frank Johnson who ordered the Selma-to-Montgomery civil rights march to proceed in 1965. He overruled Governor George Wallace, even though they went to law school together at the University of Alabama. Somewhere, Don Siegelman may be feeling a little bit of deja vu.

And it was Judge Frank Johnson who ruled in 1966 that Alabama's "poll tax" was unconstitutional. Democrats truly were in charge of state politics then - even putting taxes on some people's votes.

Given those rulings, you may be surprised to learn Judge Frank Johnson was a Republican. He was a delegate to the party's convention in 1948, only to be nominated for F.B.I. Director by President Carter almost 30 years later. Considering George Wallace's son is now a Republican, maybe political power hasn't changed as much in Alabama as we thought.

My friend at church would tell you without Judge Frank Johnson's rulings, Martin Luther King's marches and protests would have amounted to nothing. I contend without the King marches and protests, Judge Frank Johnson would have had nothing to rule on. It's probably a "chicken-and-egg" argument - and in the South, it's still more likely to happen on radio talk shows than at church.

But my friend has a valid point about the civil rights movement in general. The reforms which took place in this country since 1954 have been almost entirely due to rulings by white judges. From schools in Topeka and Little Rock to polling places in the South - why, all those judges could be listed on a single Taylor County plaque.

So if you're a white person who still isn't sure what to do about this holiday after more than 20 years, maybe you should think today about the white judges who ruled in Martin Luther King Junior's favor. They assisted in that dream - and they were sly enough to dodge all the batons and fire hoses.

By the way, you may have read or heard that all banks are closed for M.L.K. Day - but that's not so. The SunTrust branch inside the Bradley Park Drive Publix store is open. A sign posted inside says it's "as a convenience to our customers." As high-priced as some items at Publix are, I guess this makes sense....

E-MAIL UPDATE: Sometimes readers combine several of our topics into one message. That saves disk space, you know....

Richard, I was rather surprised to read your disrespectful comments about Ft. Mitchell. Do you realize how many of our military heroes are buried in the VA cemetery there? Since they are unable to complain to you I thought I would do it for them!

And about those area civilians who got their pictures taken with the President at Ft. Benning - I wonder if they had to pay (donate) the usual $5,000 or was it that they had already donated the $5,000 before the visit and that's why they got invited.

And why should the city of Columbus give the companies that are delinquent with their landfill fees 60 days or more before charging a late fee? The average citizen has to pay late fees to their credit card companies if they are one day late! And how about the average citizen having to pay late fees and penalties for paying their property taxes late, or their utility bills late? Sounds to me like the city officials are giving one group (landfill users) a break!

Glad to see that Doug Kellett is reading your blog. Many of us out there in radio-land are still waiting patiently for WRCG management to get smart and put him back on the air. Have they forgotten how popular his talk show was for years? The L-E article reported that WRCG was losing money and that's why they had to let one employee go. Do they not understand that a popular talk show host could bring them many more advertisers which would lead to increased revenue?

Thanks for letting me vent.

Sincerely, One of your" West Columbus" (Alabama) readers

Starting from the top: I have nothing against the Fort Mitchell National Cemetery [12 Jan]. But by comparison, Fort Benning has much more than a cemetery. It has thousands of soldiers and a nice PX. Fort Mitchell has a scenic back-door entrance to Benning - but when I drove there recently, I didn't even see a Spectrum store.

It would be interesting to know all the civilians who made the "pass list" for lunch with President Bush. News reporters from places large and small were there -- but alas, your blog was not invited. Maybe if I added links to Fox News and the Drudge Report....

This reader may not realize "grace periods" such as 60 days for landfill payments are commonplace in the business world. I've dealt with it in my online ventures - where if you're impatient with a customer, you may wind up without one.

(Hasn't this reader heard the commercials where stores offer "90 days, same as cash?" I've actually thought about going to these stores, and trying to buy something with three calendar pages.)

As for Doug Kellett: that "endorsement" quote we post from time to time admittedly is several months old. Since he's no longer on WRCG, he may not read this blog anymore. Or then again, he may be using our jokes on other radio stations - knowing we can't tune them in.

If Doug Kellett really WAS popular, WRCG wouldn't have abandoned him last year in less than six months. I'm told "TalkLine" had much better ratings than his afternoon talk show. Of course, my source for that information is Robbie Watson - and we all know how unbiased she is....

The thought occurred over the weekend that with WRCG's continuing signal problems, maybe it should copy other "talk radio" stations and simulcast its signal on FM. But Archway Broadcasting has three successful FM stations now, so which one would have to change? Should they swap "Bob and Sheri" for Robbie and Harry?

If all that is not enough to ponder on a holiday weekend, here's some more from the weekend....

+ The high temperature in Columbus reached 74 degrees F., just below the record set in 1950. This was before I was born - so did anyone at Auburn University complain about global warming way back then?

+ WYBU TV-16's "Public Agenda" featured two Columbus natives who appear in the new movie, "Stomp the Yard." I admittedly don't go to movies much anymore - but I'm amazed garden clubs and landscapers haven't raised objections to this film.

+ Atmore, Alabama police reported a man was shot in an argument -- an argument about the height of the late singer James Brown. Maybe if Brown had rejected the nickname "Godfather of Soul," we wouldn't have had violence like this.

+ The Columbus State University cheerleading team did well at a national meet in Orlando. The "small co-ed" team finished second in the nation. The "large co-ed" team finished third. But I'm not sure how much weight the large team has to lose, to be considered small.

+ South Carolina embarrassed Alabama in women's basketball 95-35. Does Nick Saban REALLY have to make recruiting trips over the next three weeks?

+ Instant Message to Burger King: Maybe this is a personal subject, but I'm going to ask anyway. Why are the men in the Whopper household shaped like burgers, while the women look like ordinary people? Has anyone done genetic research into this?

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