Spartanburg’s Susu and George Dean Johnson, Jr. donate $1 million to IAAM

The International African American Museum (IAAM) received a significant leadership investment last month, when Susu and George Dean Johnson, Jr., of Spartanburg, donated $1 million to support the institution’s creation. Founders of a nationally renowned art collection, the couple has a longstanding interest in advancing the study and appreciation of African American culture.

Spartanburg native George Dean Johnson, Jr. served three terms in the South Carolina House of Representatives. He founded and led a number of successful entrepreneurial ventures, many of which now operate under an umbrella organization known as The Johnson Group. His legacy as a successful businessman was ingrained in South Carolina with the creation of the George Dean Johnson, Jr. College of Business and Economics at the University of South Carolina Upstate in Spartanburg.  Johnson is a graduate of Wofford College and the University of South Carolina,

Susan (Susu) Phifer Johnson is chief executive officer of the Johnson Collection. As an undergraduate, she attended Converse College.  She earned her master’s degree from the University of North Carolina Greensboro. In 1992, she became the third woman elected to Spartanburg City Council and continues to devote her energies to community service, currently serving in leadership roles with the Spartanburg Academic Movement (SAM) and Girl Scouts of South Carolina Midlands to Mountains. She recently spearheaded the establishment of Meeting Street Academy-Spartanburg.

Known as a “private collection for public good,” the Johnson Collection (TJC) encompasses 1200 objects with provenances that span the centuries and chronicle the complex cultural historyof the American South. Through scholarly publications, major traveling exhibitions, and rotating presentations in its Spartanburg gallery space, TJC seeks to reach a broad and diverse audience. In 2016, the state of South Carolina honored the collection with the Governor’s Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Award, its highest arts distinction.”