[Letter to Chancellor Alexander Heard from Bishop Joseph A. Johnson]

[Letter to Chancellor Alexander Heard from Bishop Joseph A. Johnson]
April 25, 1978
RG 300 Chancellor’s Records
Vanderbilt University Archives

This letter highlights the ways in which Johnson’s views on race relations at Vanderbilt conflicted with those of his peers. That year, Vanderbilt made the highly controversial decision to still host the Davis Tennis Cup matches, even though a South African team would be playing (apartheid). Following the matches, Johnson wrote to Heard to offer support for his decision. Some might identify this as a type of establishmentarianism on Johnson’s part—either way, Johnson, against the likes of Revered James Lawson, defended the University’s decision to host the Davis Tennis Cup matches.