Sol C. Johnson: The Pen That Challenged Segregation

When Sol C. Johnson took the helm of the Savannah Tribune in 1890, he inherited a newspaper barely able to stay afloat. Instead of retreating, he transformed it into a relentless advocate for Black enfranchisement and economic equity. Under his editorship, every issue carried editorials demanding fair hiring practices at City Hall, exposes on pay-gap discrimination, and guides on how to navigate Jim Crow ordinances. The walls of text in your second painting echo the Tribune’s dense columns of print—each word a call to conscience. Johnson understood that information was power. Every line of text in the vivid background is like the Tribune’s masthead: unflinching, articulate, and unwavering in its demand for justice.