The State Bar of Georgia extends condolences to the family, colleagues and many friends of Atlanta attorney Leroy R. Johnson, who was the first African American elected to the Georgia State Senate since Reconstruction and whose passing Oct. 24 at the age of 91 has left us all saddened.

A former educator, Sen. Johnson earned his law degree from North Carolina Central University Law School in 1957 and was admitted to the State Bar of Georgia in 1959. He worked as a criminal investigator for the Fulton County Solicitor General's Office and was an adviser to Atlanta's leaders in the Civil Rights Movement. He was elected to the Georgia Senate in 1962 and served from 1963 to 1975. During that time, Sen. Johnson was instrumental in desegregating the public facilities in the Georgia State Capitol. He was credited with leading the effort in 1970 to enable Muhammad Ali, whose boxing license had been suspended four years earlier, to restart his legendary career with a fight in Atlanta at a time when other cities were refusing to do so.

In 2017, the State Bar of Georgia's Committee to Promote Inclusion in the Profession honored Sen. Johnson with the Randolph Thrower Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes an outstanding individual who has dedicated his or her career to providing opportunities that foster a more diverse legal profession for members of underrepresented groups in Georgia.

Sen. Leroy Johnson will be missed and fondly remembered as a giant of Georgia's legal community. We appreciate the many contributions he made during his admirable career and his exemplary service to the public and the justice system of our state.

Darrell Sutton

President, State Bar of Georgia