Update on the Progress of Savannah’s Racial Equity and Leadership (REAL) Task Force with Dr. Otis Johnson
Chairman of the REAL Task Force, and Former Mayor of Savannah
Dr. Johnson will discuss the importance of addressing racial inequities in Savannah. He will talk about how the work of the Savannah Racial Equity and Leadership (REAL) Task Force can provide an action plan to reduce or eliminate the policies and practices that perpetuate injustice and disadvantage in black and brown communities of Savannah.
Otis S. Johnson is a former mayor of the City of Savannah, Georgia, having served two terms from 2004 to 2011. In 2007, he won re-election as mayor on a 6-candidate ballot with 70 percent of the vote. He is now retired as Professor Emeritus and former Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences at Savannah State University. He is a Savannah native, and he earned an Associate degree from what was then Armstrong Junior College in Savannah, the first African-American graduate of the college. He went on to earn a Bachelor’s degree from UGa, a Master’s degree from Clark Atlanta University, and a doctorate from the Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University. He is the author of the book “From ‘N Word’ to Mr. Mayor: Experiencing the American Dream,” published in 2016. In July of 2020, Dr. Johnson was appointed by current Savannah Mayor Van Johnson to chair the Savannah Racial Equity and Leadership (REAL) Task Force.
