[PRIVATE PAGE]
MONUMENT TO
william henry johnson
Over life-size, full-figure bronze sculpture of World War I soldier William Henry Johnson, by Manuelita Brown.
Manuelita Brown has sculpted an over life-size bronze monument to Sergeant William Henry Johnson, a United States Army soldier who performed heroically in the first African American unit of the United States Army to engage in combat in World War I.
Born circa 1892, Johnson enlisted in 1917, joining the all-black New York National Guard 15th Infantry Regiment, which when mustered into Federal service was re-designated as the 369th Infantry Regiment based in Harlem. Unwelcome and met with hostility by white Army troops, the 369th was assigned to France, where they fought in US Army uniforms, under French command.
On watch in the Argonne Forest on May 14, 1918, Johnson fought off a German raid in hand-to-hand combat, killing multiple German soldiers and suffered 21 wounds while rescuing a fellow soldier.
Germans came to refer to the 369th as the Harlem Hellfighters. The French public nicknamed Johnson’s regiment Men of Bronze. Johnson’s heroism was brought to the American public's attention by coverage in the New York World and The Saturday Evening Post.
Johnson was recognized by the French with a Croix de Guerre with star and bronze palm, the first U.S. soldier in World War I to receive that honor. The United States was slower to formally recognize his achievements; his Army discharge papers did not mention any wounds and he received no benefits. Johnson died, poor and in obscurity, in 1929.
Johnson was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart in 1996, and in 2002, the Distinguished Service Cross. He was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama on June 2, 2015.
From 1919 on, Henry Johnson's story has been part of wider consideration of treatment of African Americans in the Great War.
Manuelita Brown’s sculpture will be the first public work to honor Johnson by portraying his heroism in action. Brown is considering appropriate venues for permanent installation of this important work.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Having spent decades as a wife, mother, and teacher of mathematics, Manuelita Brown, professional artist and sculptor, is endowed with an exceptional understanding of universal human experiences. She combines this sensitivity with her broad training and innate artistic talent to create artwork frequently described as eclectic and authentically personal.
Brown’s works edify and give expression to the human spirit, and convey the strength, character, and beauty of her own people, the descendants of African survivors in the Americas.
Having trained under Bruno Lucchesi, Nigel Konstam, and Simon Kogan, Brown is an award-winning sculptor specializing in figurative and portrait works. She has completed private, corporate, and public commissions, including a life size statue of Sojourner Truth and a bust of Justice Thurgood Marshall, for the Thurgood Marshall College at University of California, San Diego. Most recently, Brown is a candidate for the commission to sculpt a portrait of Representative Shirley Chisholm, the first African American woman elected to Congress.
Brown lives and works in Southern California.
8 foot-tall figure, 5 foot-high base. 13 feet tall, total.