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State Government

ACLU honors Turner for life of civil rights work

By , Daily Memphian Published: December 02, 2018 12:17 AM CT
<strong>Former state Rep. Johnnie Turner, a longtime civil rights activist, was awarded the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee's first Lifetime Achievement Award during a fundraising gala in Nashville on Nov. 29, 2018. The Memphis Democrat retired from the Legislature this year.</strong> (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian file)

Former state Rep. Johnnie Turner, a longtime civil rights activist, was awarded the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee's first Lifetime Achievement Award during a fundraising gala in Nashville on Nov. 29, 2018. The Memphis Democrat retired from the Legislature this year. (Jim Weber/Daily Memphian file)

Former state Rep. Johnnie Turner didn’t participate in Memphis sit-ins during the 1960s in search of glory. Nor did she hear the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. or ride the Memphis city buses fearing death during the 1960s thinking she would be recognized someday at a Nashville gala.

Topics

ACLU of Tennessee Johnnie Turner
Sam Stockard

Sam Stockard

Sam Stockard is a Nashville-based reporter with more than 30 years of journalism experience as a writer, editor and columnist covering the state Legislature and Tennessee politics for The Daily Memphian.

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