Civil rights champion Johnnie Carr died Friday night in Montgomery, Alabama. She was 97 years old. Carr was hospitalized following a stroke on February 11th. Carr’s three children, Annie Bell Beasley, Alma Lee Smith and Arlam Carr Jr., stayed with her throughout her hospitalization, reports the Montgomery Advertiser.
Carr succeeded Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1967 as president of the Montgomery Improvement Association, an organization formed in 1955 when Carr’s childhood friend Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white man. She held the post until her death. As president, Carr helped lead several initiatives to improve race relations and conditions for African Americans. She was also involved in a lawsuit, with her then-13-year-old son, Arlam, as the named plaintiff, to desegregate Montgomery public schools. funny pictures funny images funny photos funny animal pictures funny dog pictures funny cat pictures funny gifs
“Johnnie Carr is one of the three major icons of the Civil Rights Movement: Dr. King, Rosa Parks and Johnnie Carr,” said Morris Dees, co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, according to the Associated Press. “I think ultimately, when the final history books are written, she’ll be one of the few people remembered for that terrific movement.”
