Macon Magazine

82 maconmagazine.com | OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2023 well and win them over, the gentle giant – all six foot three and two hundred and thirty pounds of him used as a football player at Savannah State – formed relationships with politicians, businessmen and women, the clergy, activists, and others across racial, religious, and socio-economic lines. His involvement and representation of Unionville and its interest was additionally expressed as a member of the NAACP, Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and Voters League. Johnson formed the Unionville Improvement Association, supported by his wife and other residents that wanted a voice and seat at the table. "Although he was a really strong bridge, he was still a very humble man that wasn't a stranger to anyone. He loved being a servant," said Knight. When Johnson wasn't serving Unionville in boardrooms, business meetings, and City Hall, he was on the ground in his neighborhood doing the little things. Like helping youth as a Boy Scout of America Scout Master or canvassing it on a bike for new church members for the family's house of worship, Bethel CME Church. Alongside his spouse, Johnson taught Sunday School and conducted classes at the Macon Housing Authority-owned Bird City and Alphabet City housing projects. Gloria King, a Unionville elder that has resided there as both a child and adult for the last 53 years, was a member of the UIA following Johnson's time as its leader. She was inspired by his example and decided to make a difference as a result. "He was in the neighborhood on the ground. He was always trying to make the living conditions better for the residents of Unionville," King observed. "I wish we had more people like him today." Habersham Records has been a Unionville-based business for The recreation center, founded first as Unionville Recreation Center in 1976 at his urging and now called Frank Johnson Recreation Center, is still standing, and not just surviving but thriving as a place of community connectivity for youth and families, just as Johnson intended. The FJRC is a haven and lifeline, with low- or no-cost sports, camps, and after school and break programs for kids, and social, health, and wellness programming for adults. over 50 years, owned by Phillis Habersham Malone. She appreciates Johnson for many reasons, but vividly remembers him once defending a woman that had been unjustly slapped, confronting the culprit along with other Unionville residents he had rounded up. This was indicative of who Johnson was, according to Habersham. She also noted that he was a landowner and youth mentor that taught pride, dignity, integrity, and being a good neighbor. "He done a lot of things to improve the neighborhood. Frank was Unionville's civil rights leader and representative. He ensured that we were well represented and respected by those from the outside when dealing with residents." That service described by Knight, King, and Habersham would earn him the nickname, "Mayor of Unionville". Leaving a lasting legacy The measure of a man is usually seen through the works of his mind and hands. While Frank J. Johnson transitioned from this life on November 20, 2016, his stature as an iconic, historic figure of value is in and beyond his beloved community of Unionville. His homestead, that he established and never le , is still in place just off Anthony Road. The recreation center, founded first as Unionville Recreation Center in 1976 at his urging and now called Frank Johnson Recreation Center, is still standing, and not just surviving but thriving as a place of community connectivity for youth and families, just as Johnson intended. A wing of Rutland High School housing the school district's Marine ROTC center is dedicated to Johnson. His home is a shrine to his effort. Scores of proclamations, certificates, and awards, including a Congressional Gold Medal

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