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Commissioner John E. Johnson, Jr. (Commission Vice-Chair)

Attorney John E. Johnson, Jr. is engaged in the private, general practice of law in Detroit. He also is a political and management consultant.

A native of Buffalo, New York, Attorney Johnson received an undergraduate degree in political science and journalism from Howard University (Washington, D.C.) in 1974, and his juris doctorate from Valparaiso University School of Law (Indiana) in 1978.

Attorney Johnson most recently served as corporation counsel and director of the Law Department for the city of Detroit, representing both the executive and legislative branches of government in all city of Detroit matters. Prior to that, he spent most of his legal career representing the indigent and middle classes. Previous employers include the Legal Aid and Defender Association (LADA), where he served until December, 2005 as its deputy executive director; Wayne County Neighborhood Legal Services (deputy director); National Consumer Law Center (staff attorney); UAW Legal Services Plans (managing attorney), and the Detroit Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), where he served as executive director from 1997 to 1999.

Active in both civic and community affairs, Attorney Johnson is the past chairman of the Wayne County Economic Development Corporation and Wayne County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority; past president of the Michigan Coalition for Human Rights and the Wolverine Bar Association (one of Michigan's largest African American bar associations); and former member of the Detroit Election Commission and State Bar of Michigan Character and Fitness Committee.

Attorney Johnson currently serves as general counsel for the Detroit Branch NAACP, and on the executive boards of the Fannie Lou Hamer Political Action Committee (Detroit, MI) and the Michigan Democratic Party's 14th Congressional District.

He is a member of Fellowship Chapel United Church of Christ in Detroit, where he serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees, and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. Attorney Johnson is married to state of Michigan 36th District Court Judge Izetta F. Bright. They have two daughters.

e-mail: JJohnson@2009dcrc.org

link to source: 2009dcrc.org/CommissionerJohnson

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