Frank Sikora, author of The Judge: The Life and Opinions of Alabama’s Frank M. Johnson, Jr. was interviewed recently by Greg Bass of Birmingham, Alabama’s WBHM public radio program Tapestry.
The Judge tells the life story of Judge Frank Johnson, focusing on his courtroom contributions to civil rights. In the interview, Sikora said that if Judge Johnson hadn’t acted in Montgomery, Alabama, “I don’t know that things would have progressed as they did … I think he put [the civil rights movement] 10 or 15 years ahead of where it would have been otherwise.â€
When asked if Johnson ever had “the sense that he was on the right side of history†Sikora responded, “I think he surely did but he just didn’t say that. He though if he was fair, that was all he could ask. With his rulings he became, obviously, the most celebrated judge in the twentieth century in America, and maybe in history.â€
Click here to listen to the entire interview.
The Judge: The Life and Opinions of Alabama’s Frank M. Johnson, Jr. is avaliable from NewSouth Books, Amazon.com, or your favorite online and retail booksellers.