Jeh Vincent Johnson

Jeh Vincent Johnson, , (1931–2021) was an American architect and educator. He was an African American co-founder of the National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA); and taught architectural design at Vassar College for many years. Johnson was a partner at the firms of Gindele & Johnson; and LeGendre, Johnson, McNeil Architects. His father is Charles Spurgeon Johnson, a sociologist and the 6th president of Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee; and his son is Jeh Charles Johnson, the former United States Secretary of Homeland Security.

Biography

Early life and education Jeh Vincent Johnson was July 8, 1931, Nashville, Tennessee, to parents Marie Antoinette Burgette and Charles Spurgeon Johnson. He was named "Jeh" after Chief Twelly Jeh from Liberia, who reportedly saved his father's life while he was on a League of Nations mission to Liberia in 1930.

He attended Columbia College at Columbia University in New York City, where he received a B.A. degree in 1953; and continued his studies at Columbia Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation where he received a M.Arch. degree in 1958. He was the president of the student body at Columbia in 1956.

From 1953 until 1954, Johnson served in the United States Army in the Counterintelligence Corps.

Career While still a student in 1956, Johnson worked under architect Paul R. Williams in New York City. In 1977, Johnson was elected to the AIA’s College of Fellows.

Death Johnson died at age 89 on January 27, 2021, at Vassar Brothers Hospital in Poughkeepsie, New York. His funeral was held at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Nashville and he was buried at Greenwood Cemetery. Together they married and had two children, including Jeh Charles Johnson (born 1957) the former United States Secretary of Homeland Security under President Barack Obama.

Legacy The ALANA Center at Vassar College was renamed after his death to be the Jeh Vincent Johnson ALANA Cultural Center, which he had designed.

Works

Susan Stein Shiva Theater (1977), Vassar College, Arlington, New York Catharine Street Center and Library (now Catharine St. Community Center), Poughkeepsie, New York ALANA Center (now Jeh Vincent Johnson ALANA Cultural Center), Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York