Erle Johnston

Erle Ennis Johnston Jr. (October 10, 1917 – September 26, 1995) was an American public official, newspaperman, author, and mayor in Mississippi. He was campaign associate for Ross Barnett and wrote a biography of the segregationist governor. In 1960, Barnett appointed him public relations director of the pro-segregation Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission. Johnston became its executive director and continued to hold the public relations duties. He held the position under Governor Paul B. Johnson Jr. before resigning in 1968. He worked at The Scott County Times newspaper, before buying it. Johnston was mayor of Forest, Mississippi, from 1981 to 1985. He attended Grenada High School in Grenada, Mississippi.

In May 1962, Johnson gave a commencement speech at his former high school, Grenada High School, titled "The Practical Way to Maintain a Separate School System in Mississippi" in which he criticized the "extremism" of the NAACP and Citizens Councils. The University of Southern Mississippi has a collection of his papers.

Johnston died September 26, 1995, from heart failure while in hospital in Jackson, Mississippi.