John H. Calhoun

John H. Calhoun
Member of the Atlanta City Council
District 1
In office
1974 (1974)–1978 (1978)
Personal details
Born
John Henry Calhoun Jr.

(1899-07-08)July 8, 1899
Greenville, South Carolina, U.S.
DiedMay 6, 1988(1988-05-06) (aged 88)
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Alma materMorehouse College (1937)
Atlanta University (1968)
OccupationActivist, civil rights leader, politician

John H. Calhoun Jr. (July 8, 1899 – May 6, 1988) was an American civil rights leader and politician who served on the Atlanta City Council from 1974 to 1978.[1]

Early life and education

John Henry Calhoun Jr. was born on July 8, 1899, in Greenville, South Carolina.[2] At the age of 12, he started apprenticing as a blacksmith; Calhoun graduated high school from the Hampton Institute in 1922, at the age of 23.[3][4] Calhoun also earned a Bachelor of Arts from Morehouse College in 1937, and graduated from Atlanta University in 1968 with an MBA.[3] He also attended Northwestern University.[5]

Political Work

Calhoun worked at the Veteran's Affairs hospital in Tuskeegee starting on July 3, 1923, where he immediately received threats from the Ku Klux Klan.[6]

Calhoun moved to Atlanta in 1934.[3] In 1940, he co-founded the Atlanta Negro Voters League. Calhoun became president of the Atlanta chapter of the NAACP in 1956.[4][1][7] Throughout Atlanta, Calhoun was known as "Your Man in Community Action".[3][8] In 1964, he was recommended by Robert Snodgrass to attend the 1964 Republican National Convention on behalf of state moderate Republicans who felt alienated by the nomination of Barry Goldwater.[9]

Calhoun was a member of the Atlanta City Council for District 1 from 1974 to 1978. Calhoun was a Republican.[3] In the October 1973 election, Calhoun defeated John Releford with 75% of the vote.[10] Mayor Maynard Jackson presented Calhoun with an award in May 1981.[11]

Personal life

Outside of politics and activism, Calhoun held a large variety of jobs, working as a bookkeeper, dock worker, janitor, headwaiter, hospital administrator, insurance salesman, real estate agent, and reporter.[3][4] Businesses he founded included Calhoun Furniture Company and John Calhoun Real Estate.[3]

Calhoun had two children, John Henry Calhoun III and Ninaking Anderson.[3][4][12]

John Calhoun Park on Auburn Avenue in Atlanta is named in his honor.[7] Calhoun's papers are housed at the Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center, which include a draft of Calhoun's unpublished book Atlanta — The Cradle of Black Leadership in America.[13][8]

Calhoun died on May 6, 1988, in Atlanta.

References

  1. ^ a b West, E. Bernard (6 April 1979). "Oral history interview of John Calhoun, clip 1 of 2". Atlanta History Center.
  2. ^ Calhoun, John Henry (1940). "John Henry Calhoun Draft Card [No. 1863]". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "John H. Calhoun, Jr. papers [1-40, OS 1-27]". Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library.
  4. ^ a b c d "John Calhoun, 88; A Longtime Fighter For Rights in South". The New York Times. Vol. 137, no. 47501. 10 May 1988. p. D26.
  5. ^ "New Staff" (PDF). SCLC Newsletter. 1 (6). Southern Christian Leadership Conference: 1. April 1962.
  6. ^ Daniel, Pete (August 1970). "Black Power in the 1920s: The Case of Tuskegee Veterans Hospital". The Journal of Southern History. 36 (3): 368–388. doi:10.2307/2206200. JSTOR 2206200.
  7. ^ a b "John Calhoun Park (170-176 Auburn Avenue)". The Historical Marker Database. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  8. ^ a b Schmich, Mary T. (22 October 1987). "Blacks Begin Efforts to Revive the Dream of 'Sweet Auburn'". The Chicago Tribune.
  9. ^ "Negro to Go to the Convention". The Atlanta Constitution. 1964-06-30. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
  10. ^ "City of Atlanta Election - October 2, 1973".
  11. ^ "File Master #575 5/1/81 through 6/20/81: 11. Old Atl; Awards 05-28-81". The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection. The University of Georgia. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  12. ^ Merriner, Jim (15 October 1974). "Mayor Picks 30 for Bicentennial". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 5-A.
  13. ^ Jones, Stacy (June 2014). "John H. Calhoun, Jr. papers open to researchers" (PDF). Archivists and Archives of Color Newsletter. 28 (3): 5.