Johnson, Hank, 1954-

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Henry Calvin Johnson Jr. (born October 2, 1954) is an American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Georgia's 4th congressional district since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He is one of only three Buddhists, along with Hawaii Senator Mazie Hirono and former Hawaii Representative Colleen Hanabusa, to have ever served in the United States Congress.

Johnson grew up in Washington, D.C. Johnson received his B.A. degree from Clark College (now Clark Atlanta University) in 1976, is a member of Omega Psi Phi Kappa Alpha Alpha Chapter, Decatur, Georgia, and his J.D. degree from Texas Southern University Thurgood Marshall School of Law in Houston in 1979; he practiced law in Decatur, Georgia, for more than 25 years. From 1989 to 2001, Johnson served as an associate judge of the DeKalb County magistrate's court. He was elected to the DeKalb County Commission in 2000 and served from 2001 to 2006.

In 2006, Johnson challenged Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney in the Democratic primary for the 4th district—the real contest in this heavily Democratic, black-majority district. He forced McKinney into a runoff by holding her under 50% in the July 18, 2006 Democratic primary. In the runoff of August 8, 2006, Johnson emerged victorious. In November, he trounced the Republican candidate, Catherine Davis, with 76% of the vote - one of the largest percentages for a Democrat in a contested election, and the largest in the history of the district. Johnson has been reelected six subsequent times.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Records of the National Park Service, 1785 - 2006. Legislative Files, ca. 2010 - 1/3/2016 National Archives Library, National Archives Records Administration
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
alumnusOrAlumnaOf Clark Atlanta University corporateBody
alumnusOrAlumnaOf Texas Southern University. School of Law corporateBody
memberOf United States. Congress. House person
Place Name Admin Code Country
Atlanta GA US
District of Columbia DC US
Decatur GA US
Lithonia GA US
Houston TX US
Subject
Occupation
Jurists
Lawyers
Representatives, U.S. Congress
Activity

Person

Birth 1954-10-02

Male

Americans

English

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