James Johnson's Story

In his oral history interview, James Johnson identifies himself as a native of Oklahoma City and a fourth- generation graduate of Douglass High School, where he served as the Alumni Association President for over twenty years. His mother’s family, the Edwards, arrived in Oklahoma around 1907, while his paternal family migrated from Texas in the 1890s.

A significant portion of the interview focuses on the entrepreneurial and civics legacy of his grandparents, Walter J. and Frances Edwards, who built the Edwards Memorial Hospital in 1948 after experiencing the injustice of segregated healthcare in Oklahoma. Johnson also shares about their work in real estate. Specifically, the development of the Edwards Edition, a housing edition built to provide Black Oklahoma City residents with the opportunity to purchase modern, brick-and-masonry homes in an era of restrictive residential ordinances.