“Slavery By Another Name” with Guest Dr. Charles Johnson

Episode 13: “Slavery By Another Name” with Guest Dr. Charles Johnson We are grateful to welcome Dr. Charles Johnson to our show this week! He is the Director of the Public History Program at NCCU and provided our hosts with the Slave Patrols information used in our very first podcast episode. We are excited to have him join us to discuss convict leasing and the peonage system. Dr. Johnson tells us its history from slavery through the Civil War and 80 years after the war ended, specifically focusing on the Deep South. He explains the development of the peonage system, the conditions for people within it, and how it’s considered “slavery by another name.” Our hosts join in to discuss how this other form of slavery has affected the view of African Americans, how they are treated within the criminal system, and how it has impacted the psychology of the culture in this country. Black Psychologists & Psychiatrists that Dr. Johnson mentioned reading more about: Dr. Frances Cress Welsing, Na’im Akbar, Dr. Thomas Parham, Dr. Amos Wilson, Reginald Jones, Dr. Jonathan Livingston More info about Charles Denton “Chaz” Johnson: Charles Denton Johnson is an oral historian, digital humanist, and raconteur who studies 20th Century African American and Global African Diaspora History. He is an Assistant Professor of History and the Director of the Public History Program at North Carolina Central University (NCCU). Dr. Johnson earned his Bachelor of Arts from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, his Master of Arts from North Carolina Central University, and his Ph.D. from Howard University in Washington, D.C. He has co-authored a book on African Diaspora History (2016) and written several book chapters on the Black experience. He has given lectures, presentations and held fireside chats on three continents. Dr. Johnson’s research interests include Blacks in Durham, Blacks in Chatham County, North Carolina, and a biography of his father Charles Johnson, MD, a former fighter pilot and pioneer physician at Duke Hospital. In collaboration with colleagues and community historians, he is developing exhibits on Blacks in Agriculture in North Carolina for the North Carolina Museum of History and the football rivalry between North Carolina Central University and North Carolina A&T State University for the Museum of Durham History. He holds leadership positions and membership in several organizations. He is on the Board of Directors of the Museum of Durham History and sits on its Exhibits Committee. He is a member of the Friends of Geer Cemetery, and he is the official Community Historian for the Emorywood community. He is the current Vice Chair of the Faculty Senate (2020-2022). He has previously held faculty positions at Lane College in Jackson, TN and Howard University in Washington, DC. At Howard, he directed the South African Research and Archival Project (SARAP), a digital humanities archival and research project on African American and South African relations. He is a Prince Hall Mason and a member of the Durham (NC) Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. Dr. Johnson was born and raised in Durham and educated in the Durham Public School System. He is married to the former LaShonda Davis of Hodge, LA, and they have a son Xavier, who is in high school in Durham. His parents are Charles Johnson, MD and the Hon. Carolyn Denton Johnson, a former District Court Judge in Durham, now deceased. His sister Carla Johnson is retired and lives in Virginia. She has a daughter Christina Landrum who is in graduate school in Texas.