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John H. Calhoun Jr. (July 8, 1899 – May 6, 1988) was an American civil rights leader and politician who served on the Atlanta City Council from 1974 to 1978.

Early life and education

John Henry Calhoun Jr. was born on July 8, 1899, in Greenville, South Carolina. At the age of 12, he started apprenticing as a blacksmith; Calhoun graduated high school from the Hampton Institute in 1922, at the age of 23. Calhoun also earned a Bachelor of Arts from Morehouse College in 1937, and graduated from Atlanta University in 1968 with an MBA. He also attended Northwestern University.

Political Work

Calhoun worked at the Veteran's Affairs hospital in Tuskeegee starting on July 3, 1923, where he immediately received threats from the Ku Klux Klan.

Calhoun moved to Atlanta in 1934. In 1940, he co-founded the Atlanta Negro Voters League. Calhoun became president of the Atlanta chapter of the NAACP in 1956. Throughout Atlanta, Calhoun was known as "Your Man in Community Action". In 1964, he was recommended by Robert Snodgrass to attend the 1964 Republican National Convention on behalf of state moderate Republicans who felt alienated by the nomination of Barry Goldwater.

Calhoun was a member of the Atlanta City Council for District 1 from 1974 to 1978. Calhoun was a Republican. In the October 1973 election, Calhoun defeated John Releford with 75% of the vote. Mayor Maynard Jackson presented Calhoun with an award in May 1981.

Personal life

Outside of politics and activism, Calhoun held a large variety of jobs, working as a bookkeeper, dock worker, janitor, headwaiter, hospital administrator, insurance salesman, real estate agent, and reporter. Businesses he founded included Calhoun Furniture Company and John Calhoun Real Estate.

Calhoun had two children, John Henry Calhoun III and Ninaking Anderson.

John Calhoun Park on Auburn Avenue in Atlanta is named in his honor. Calhoun's papers are housed at the Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center, which include a draft of Calhoun's unpublished book Atlanta — The Cradle of Black Leadership in America.

Calhoun died on May 6, 1988, in Atlanta.

References

1. ^ West, E. Bernard (6 April 1979). "Oral history interview of John Calhoun, clip 1 of 2". Atlanta History Center.
2. Calhoun, John Henry (1940). "John Henry Calhoun Draft Card [No. 1863]". National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
3. ^ "John H. Calhoun, Jr. papers [1-40, OS 1-27]". Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library.
4. ^ "John Calhoun, 88; A Longtime Fighter For Rights in South". The New York Times. Vol. 137, no. 47501. 10 May 1988. p. D26.
5. "New Staff" (PDF). SCLC Newsletter. 1 (6). Southern Christian Leadership Conference: 1. April 1962.
6. Daniel, Pete (August 1970). "Black Power in the 1920s: The Case of Tuskegee Veterans Hospital". The Journal of Southern History. 36 (3): 368–388. doi:10.2307/2206200. JSTOR 2206200.
7. ^ "John Calhoun Park (170-176 Auburn Avenue)". The Historical Marker Database. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
8. ^ Schmich, Mary T. (22 October 1987). "Blacks Begin Efforts to Revive the Dream of 'Sweet Auburn'". The Chicago Tribune.
9. "Negro to Go to the Convention". The Atlanta Constitution. 1964-06-30. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
10. "City of Atlanta Election - October 2, 1973".
11. "File Master #575 5/1/81 through 6/20/81: 11. Old Atl; Awards 05-28-81". The Walter J. Brown Media Archives & Peabody Awards Collection. The University of Georgia. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
12. Merriner, Jim (15 October 1974). "Mayor Picks 30 for Bicentennial". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 5-A.
13. Jones, Stacy (June 2014). "John H. Calhoun, Jr. papers open to researchers" (PDF). Archivists and Archives of Color Newsletter. 28 (3): 5.

• 1899 births
• 1988 deaths
• African-American city council members in Georgia (U.S. state)
• 20th-century African-American politicians
• Atlanta City Council members
• Georgia (U.S. state) Republicans
• People from Greenville, South Carolina
• Morehouse College alumni