FRANCYS JOHNSON

Francys Johnson is an unapologetic believer in the power of ordinary people to change the world. Born and raised on his grandparents' farm in Sylvania, Georgia, he learned that faith without works is dead, community is sacred, and every generation must leave the ground better than it found it. Those lessons have carried him from the red clay of rural Georgia to the courtroom, the classroom, the pulpit, and the front lines of consequential civil rights struggles. His life's work reflects a singular conviction: justice is not simply something we seek; it is something we must have the courage to create.

Francys Johnson is a partner at Davis Bozeman Johnson Law, where he practices criminal and civil law in state and federal courts. A seasoned trial attorney, he represents the wrongfully accused, the seriously injured, families seeking justice, and individuals challenging powerful institutions. His advocacy has secured freedom for the wrongfully accused, millions of dollars in compensation for injured clients, and meaningful remedies for people denied equal treatment under the law. His work has attracted national attention, including coverage by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, USA Today, The New York Times, NPR, MSNBC, CNN, TMZ, and Time. He has also served as a legal commentator on Court TV.

For three decades, Francys Johnson has served in ordained ministry rooted in the rural South. He is the Senior Minister of Magnolia Missionary Baptist Church in Statesboro and Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in Pembroke, Georgia. His ministry embraces a liberating Gospel that strengthens families, builds communities, confronts injustice, and insists that faith must make a difference beyond Sunday morning. Whether preaching from the pulpit or advocating in the public square, he understands ministry as both a spiritual calling and a practical commitment to human liberation.

Francys Johnson has held leadership roles at nearly every level of the modern civil rights movement, including President of the Georgia NAACP and Southeast Regional Director of the NAACP, where he helped lead advocacy across seven Southern states. His work has expanded civic participation, protected voting rights, developed new leaders, and empowered historically marginalized communities. Through litigation and organizing, he helped restore more than 300,000 disenfranchised voters to the rolls and supported efforts that registered more than half a million new voters. His advocacy has also advanced fair housing, educational equity, workers’ rights, and criminal justice reform.

The Gate City Bar Association named Francys Johnson its Civil Rights Lawyer of the Year, and he has earned recognition on numerous Best Lawyers lists. His professional service includes the State Bar of Georgia's Board of Governors, the Chief Justice's Commission on Professionalism, the Standing Committee on the Eradication of Racism in the Justice System, the Judicial Qualifications Nominating Committee, and the Federal Judicial Nominating Committee.

A graduate of Georgia Southern University and the University of Georgia School of Law, Francys Johnson has taught Criminal Law, Constitutional Law, Race and the Law, and the Civil Rights Movement at Georgia Southern University and Savannah State University. He has testified before Congress, lectured nationally, and written and spoken extensively on voting rights, race, equity, power, and public policy. 

Beyond his professional accomplishments, family remains central to his life. He is married to Dr. Meca Williams-Johnson, an educational psychologist and university administrator. Together, they are the parents of Thurgood Marshall Joshua Johnson, Langston Hughes Elijah Johnson, and the late Frederick Douglass Caleb Johnson. Francys Johnson lives by the enduring command of Micah 6:8: to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God.