This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
Size | 4 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 1000 items) |
Abstract | Mid-twentieth-century sermons and addresses delivered in North Carolina Lutheran churches and other venues, including radio, comprise the majority of white minister David Frontis Johnson's papers. Other collection materials include Johnson's curriculum vita, obituaries, writings, clippings, a card index of biblical passages for use in sermons, slight correspondence, and a small number of printed items pertaining to the Lutheran Church or specific churches where Johnson served in Kannapolis, N.C., and Kure Beach, N.C. Among the writings is an essay written in the mid 1950s and titled "Judgement Begins" in which Johnson discusses race relations between African Americans and whites in the American South and describes a lifetime of conditioning from white privilege and supremacy. |
Creator | Johnson, David Frontis, 1917-1981. |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Laura Hart and Amy Morgan, August 2017
Encoded by: Laura Hart, August 2017
Back to TopThe following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
1917 | Born 25 July in Saluda County, S.C. to George Tolbert Johnson and Lida Mae (Denny) Johnson. |
1934 | Graduated from high school in Columbia, S.C. |
1938 | Graduated from the University of South Carolina. |
1942 | Graduated from Lutheran Theological Seminary in Columbia, S.C. |
1942 | Ordained to the Gospel Ministry by the South Carolina Synod. |
1942 | Married Eleanor Louise (Weir) Johnson. |
1942-1947 | Served Gladesboro Lutheran Church, Carroll County, Va. |
1947-1952 | Served St. Matthew's Lutheran Church, Rowan County, N.C. |
1952-1957 | Served Kure Memorial Lutheran Church, Kure Beach, N.C. |
1957-1961 | Kimball Memorial Lutheran Church, Kannapolis, N.C. |
1961-1963 | Served as Superintendent of North Carolina Missions of the Synod of North Carolina. |
1963-1972 | Served as Regional Secretary, Lutheran Church in America Board of American Missions, for North Carolina and Southeast Synods. |
1973-1981 | Served as Regional Director, North Carolina and South Carolina, Division of Mission in North America of Lutheran Church in America. |
1981 | Died on August 6. |
Chronology adapted from Johnson's biographical note on the website for the North Carolina Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (Accessed August 2017).
Back to TopMid-twentieth-century sermons and addresses delivered in North Carolina Lutheran churches and other venues, including radio, comprise the majority of white minister David Frontis Johnson's papers. Other collection materials include Johnson's curriculum vita, obituaries, writings, clippings, a card index of biblical passages for use in sermons, slight correspondence, and a small number of printed items pertaining to the Lutheran Church and specific churches where Johnson served in Kannapolis, N.C., and Kure Beach, N.C. Among the writings is an essay written in the mid 1950s and titled "Judgement Begins" in which Johnson discusses race relations between African Americans and whites in the American South and describes a lifetime of conditioning from white privilege and supremacy and his conviction to bring about change.
In another essay titled "The Mighty Hand of God," Johnson describes the preparations for and the impact and aftermath of Hurricane Hazel on Kure Beach, N.C., in 1954.
Although Johnson taught American Sign Language and used it in public worship services, the collection does not reflect his work with the deaf community.
Back to TopArrangement: Loosely arranged by material type.
Folder 1 |
Curriculum vitae, "A Biography of the Rev. David F. Johnson," undated |
Folder 2 |
Obituary and memorial service programs, 1981 |
Folder 3 |
Essay titled "Judgement Begins," circa 1955Johnson, a white southerner, discusses race relations between African Americans and whites in the American South and describes a lifetime of conditioning from white privilege and supremacy and his conviction to bring about change. "All around me were second generation people of reconstruction....In all things there was a sense of 'paternal love' toward the Negro, but the firm resolve that he had a special place, apart from the white man, and that in this place he must be forced to stay. I did not think it strange: That small white children and small black children should play together as inseparable companions but that there would come a certain age in their life where association and fellowship would cease and the Negro could no longer use the first name of his former playmate." |
Folder 4 |
Essay titled "The Mighty Hand of God," circa 1954Hurricane Hazel's impact on Kure Beach, N.C. |
Folder 5 |
"The Development of Catechetical Instruction," 1942Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary. |
Folder 6 |
"Wonderings on Worship," 1956 |
Folder 7 |
"Who Walks Alone?," undated"We live in peculiar times, in which we are bombarded with propaganda, living in a state of unrest and uncertainty." |
Folder 8 |
"Radio Meditation," undated |
Folder 9 |
"The Doctrine of the Trinity,"1941 |
Folder 10 |
"A Comparative Study of the Sacraments, 1942 |
Folder 11 |
"An Ethical Code for Ministers," undated |
Folder 12 |
"Symbolics" and "Dogmatics," undated |
Folder 13 |
"Pastoral Theology," undated |
Folder 14 |
"The Class of '62," circa 1962 |
Folder 15-24
Folder 15Folder 16Folder 17Folder 18Folder 19Folder 20Folder 21Folder 22Folder 23Folder 24 |
Printed and typescript items, circa 1941-1963Includes ration books from the Second World War, clippings, and items about Kimball Memorial Evangelical Lutheran Church, Kure Memorial Evangelical Memorial Church, and Mount Gilead Lutheran Church. |
Folder 25 |
Appointment book, 1981 |
Folder 26 |
Notes, undated |
Folder 27 |
Correspondence, 1961 |
Folder 28 |
Correspondence, 1980 |
Box 2 |
Sermons, lectures, and address, 1939-July 1956 |
Box 3 |
Sermons, lectures, and address, August 1956-March 1958 |
Box 4 |
Sermons, lectures, and address, April 1958-August 1959 |
Box 5 |
Sermons, lectures, and address, September 1959-December 1960 |
Box 6 |
Sermons, lectures, and address, 1961-1969 |
Box 7 |
Sermons, lectures, and address, 1971-1980 and undated |
Card File CF-5749/1 |
Biblical passages for sermons, undated |
Image P-5749/1 |
Kure Memorial Evangelical Lutheran Church, 1950sBlack and white print. Kure Beach, N.C. |