Ray Bassett

The Ed Johnson Conversations

History EN ↓ 6 episodes

In 1906, Ed Johnson - a young Black man - was falsely accused and wrongfully convicted of a crime he did not commit here in Chattanooga. His case reached the United States Supreme Court, which issued a stay of execution. But a violent mob took the law into its own hands - and lynched him on the Walnut Street Bridge. From his arrest through his trial to the final moments of his life, Ed Johnson said, again and again: “I am an innocent man.”Scenic Roots bring you a series of conversations with members of The Ed Johnson Project about his story from more than a century ago - and the memorial in th...

Author

Ray Bassett

Episodes

Part VI: The Memorial On The Walnut St. Bridge 29.10.2024 48:40

(The Ed Johnson Project) In this final conversation in our series, Mariann Martin, Eric Atkins and Steve Derthick of The Ed Johnson Project talk about the memorial in this century for remembrance, reconciliation and healing at the south end of Chattanooga’s Walnut St. Bridge.

Part V: The Trial At The U.S. Supreme Court 29.10.2024 47:41

(The Ed Johnson Project) In this conversation, Judge Curtis Collier and Eric Atikins discuss the U.S. Supreme Court’s intervention in the Ed Johnson case after his lynching on Chattanooga’s Walnut St. Bridge.

Part IV: The Night On The Walnut St. Bridge 29.10.2024 44:30

(The Ed Johnson Project) In this conversation, LaFrederick Thirkill and Kevin Bate discuss the violent mob that took Ed Johnson from his cell in the Hamilton County Jail on the night of March 19th, 1906 - and took his life on the Walnut St. Bridge.

Part III: The Baptism At The Hamilton County Jail 29.10.2024 47:00

(newspapers.com) In this conversation, the Rev. Paul McDaniel, Eleanor McCallie Cooper and Donivan Brown talk about the members of the St. James Baptist Church who came to the Hamilton County Jail and baptized Ed Johnson in a bathtub filled with water on the last Sunday of his life.

Part II: The Appeal In Knoxville - And Washington, DC 29.10.2024 46:54

( The Ed Johnson Project) In this conversation, Katharine McCallie Gardner and Ardena Garth Hicks follow the case of Ed Johnson through the appeal process, a legal journey that leads to Knoxville - and then Washington, DC.

Part I: From St. Elmo To The Trial 29.10.2024 47:11

(The Ed Johnson Project) In our premiere conversation, Mariann Martin and Judge Neil Thomas take us back to 1906 Chattanooga - and talk about the crime that leads to the arrest of Ed Johnson, his trial and its verdict.