Dr. Fred L. Johnson III is assistant professor of American History at Hope College in Holland, Michigan.  He received his Bachelor of Science degree in History and Teacher Education from Bowie State University, Bowie, Maryland, and his masters and doctorate degrees from Kent State University, Kent, Ohio. His doctoral dissertation, The Tracks of War: Confederate Strategic Rail Policy and the Struggle for the Baltimore & Ohio, established him as one of the few African American historians specializing in the South and the Confederacy. His other subfields of specialization are: U.S. Military History; U.S. 20^th Century History; and Africa.

Dr. Johnson’s academic training has equipped him to teach, write, and speak on matters pertaining to Southern history and the Confederacy that highlight the lives, struggles, and successes of African Americans from the establishment of the United States to modern day. During classroom lectures and public presentations, his knowledge of the interactions of black and white southerners has afforded him the ability to debunk persisting historical inaccuracies regarding the important role played by blacks during America’s development. He moves African Americans from being mere spectators in the American story to significant participants who were more committed to the ideals of democracy than those who enslaved, harassed, and perpetually marginalized them.

    As a military historian with a developing specialty in the history of U.S. foreign policy, Dr. Johnson has focused upon the historical relationship between the United States and nations on the African continent. His growing expertise in this area has resulted in his being called upon with increasing frequency to present information about the still little known , often misunderstood connection that has influenced this segment of America’s foreign policy since the founding of the republic.

Along with his scholarly pursuits, Dr. Johnson has developed a solid reputation as a novelist. In January 2002, he celebrated the release of his first novel Bittersweet (One World/Random House). The book review in the Detroit Free Press noted that the novel was a “tender, touching, sometimes achingly painful, and sometimes humorous testament to the power of love between black brothers and the women they love.” Black Issues Book Review described the novel as a “sassy debut – a treatise on divorce, temptation, and faith . . . Bittersweet weaves a true life narrative that’s . . . highly entertaining.” And Essence magazine observed that Bittersweet was “a book to curl up with on a winter evening.”

In January 2003, Dr. Johnson followed the success of Bittersweet with A Man Finds His Way, his second One World/Random House novel. Publishers Weekly stated that “Johnson does a decent job of juggling a plethora of subplots,” and that the main character “is an intelligent, well-drawn protagonist with believable strengths and flaws.”

  For the past three years, Dr. Johnson has used his summers to conduct research in East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda) and the United States for a future book, Eagle on the Continent: U.S. Foreign Policy in East Africa, 1945 to Present.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Posted May 8, 2005

Dr. Fred L. Johnson III, assistant professor of history at Hope College, has been presented the 41st annual “Hope Outstanding Professor Educator” (H.O.P.E.) Award by the graduating Class of 2005.

He was named the recipient during the college’s Commencement ceremony, held at Holland Municipal Stadium on Sunday, May 8, at 3 p.m.

The award, first given in 1965, is presented by the graduating class to the professor who they feel epitomizes the best qualities of the Hope College educator.

Johnson joined the Hope faculty in the fall of 2000. His primary field is 19th century U.S. history, specifically the Confederacy during the Civil War. His other areas of study include the U.S. in the 20th century, the U.S. military and Africa.

The “Hope Outstanding Professor Educator” Award is the second major campus honor that Johnson has received from the college’s students. During Homecoming in October of 2002, the student body elected him recipient of the “Favorite Faculty/Staff Member” Award.

He delivered the college’s Commencement address in May of 2003. In January of this year, he was among the faculty who made presentations during the college’s annual Winter Happening, discussing “Eagle on the Continent: U.S. Foreign Policy in Africa, 1945 to present.

Johnson is the author of two critically-acclaimed novels, “A Man Finds His Way,” published early in 2003, and “Bittersweet,” published early in 2002. His third novel, “Other Men’s Wives,” is due out on May 31 of this year.

He has been working with Dr. David Schock of the Hope communication faculty for three years to create a documentary that examines the history of the Ku Klux Klan in Michigan. The first segment, which focuses on the Reconstruction era, premiered on campus in October in conjunction with the national 24th Biennial Conference of the Conference on Faith and History. Johnson was the conference’s local arrangements chair.

Johnson is currently revising his doctoral dissertation for publication. Titled “The Tracks of ar: Confederate Rail Policy and the Struggle for the Baltimore & Ohio,” the work is a case study of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad during the Civil War to determine whether or not, or to what extent, the Confederate government had a definitive strategy against it and other United States railroads.

He has also been conducting research for “Eagle on the Continent: U.S. Foreign Policy in Africa, 1945-Present,” part of which included his attending the War Crimes Tribunal in Arusha, Tanzania, where alleged perpetrators of the 1994 Rwandan genocide are currently standing trial. Johnson is also interested in writing definitive biographies on Henry O. Flipper, who was born a slave and in 1877 became the first black graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, and Michael Healy, who, also born a lave, became the first black captain in the United States Revenue Cutter Service, a forerunner of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Johnson grew up in the Washington, D.C., metro area. He received his bachelor's degree from Bowie State College in Maryland, and his master's and doctorate from Kent State University in Ohio. His past career experiences include serving as a corporate trainer and as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps.

His community involvement includes serving on the board of the Lakeshore Ethnic Diversity Alliance, co-facilitating sessions of the Institute for Healing Racism (sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce), being a charter member of the newly organized Centennial Rotary Club, and being an active participant in the Macatawa Toastmasters lub. This past April, after winning at several previous stages of competition, Johnson represented the Western District at the International Speech Contest, at which he took third place.