The Reverend Billy J. Johnson (1929-1990)

Born in South Carolina, the Reverend Johnson established a statewide legacy of religious leadership and community activism. After serving in World War II and the Korean War, he retired as master sergeant from the Air Force in 1968. While completing his studies at Pratt Junior College and Washburn University, he became increasingly more active in his church. For the Baptist Church in Kansas, he served as president of the Laymen Department for the Southwestern District Baptist Association, director of Christian studies for the Youth Department, secretary and vice moderator for the Kaw Valley District Baptist Association, director of Christian education for the Missionary Baptist State Convention of Kansas and in many other leadership roles. Having accepted the call to the ministry in June 1967, he fulfilled his first pastorate at the African American Baptist Church in Pratt, Kansas. He later served as pastor of First Regular Baptist Church in Lawrence, Kansas and retired in 1989 as pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Topeka where he served for almost a decade. During these years, he also served as Bible instructor at the American Baptist Student Ministries at the University of Kansas and director of the extension courses of Western Baptist Bible College in Kansas City.

Dedicated to caring for the social welfare needs of Kansas communities, the Reverend Johnson served in a variety of capacities for civic organizations and agencies, including police and hospital chaplain and board member of the Jayhawk Area Agency on Aging, the Topeka Mayor’s Fair Housing Committee, and the National Council on Alcoholism. His other volunteer activities were devoted to the Optimist Club and the Shawnee Adult Probation Service. In addition, he was an active member of the Prince Hall Masonic Lodge and the NAACP.

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