Written by Staff Writer Cheyenne Walker

Creating young leaders and instilling young people with the identity that allows them to define who they are is Jeff Johnson’s passion. 

Whether you’ve heard him on The Tom Joyner Morning Show’s, “The Commentator” competition, or seen him as host of Black Entertainment Television’s (BET), “The Jeff Johnson Chronicles”, or “The Truth”, a new show focused on current issues and how they affect the African American community, Johnson, who has been described as a social entrepreneur, is an advocate for change on and off screen.  “I’m not playing a caricature. 

I was doing the work that I do on television before I was ever on television and I continue to do the work after they take me off television because it’s really what I love to do.  It’s who I am, it’s what I believe in,” says Johnson. 

A born leader, Jeff’s skills on the track, earned him an athletic scholarship to The University of Toledo, which he eventually gave up to become more active in the Black Student Union.  President for two terms, Johnson, who graduated with a degree in Political Science, prepared for a career in politics, but soon realized it was not in his nature to be an elected official, but an advocate for social change.     

Past opportunities in corporate America including an appointment by Russell Simmons, as Vice President of the Hip Hop Summit Action Network, have prepared Jeff for the place where he stands today, but being his own social constructor, he does not define himself by titles.  “I hate bios because they only tell half the story, most of the time the reason why we are where we are today is not because of the award or title we have, but because something of our own doing or someone else’s doing tried to kill us, but we kept pushing.”

This statement, so telling, especially in the lives of those individuals who paved the way and continue to pave the way for upcoming generations, but is that drive evident in our young people today?  “The problem is,” says Johnson, “that so often we do not engage young people in the process of not just doing what we do, but helping them identify their own issues and then training them on how to address it… and we wonder why our communities look the way they do, it’s because we haven’t trained the next generation to be soldiers.”

There are so many issues affecting the black community, economic, healthcare, and education, just to name a few, and many people list the problems, but so often do not offer steps or solutions for change.  “I think we have to play chess and we keep playing checkers,” comments Johnson. “What I mean by chess is, there are multiple issues that we address at the same time in different ways all playing our role.  We constantly give these quotes like “it takes a village to raise a child,” but it takes a whole village to run the village.  If we all do our job and play our role and we do it collectively, then we will begin to see some systemic change to multiple issues, at the same time.”

According to Johnson, youth are the key to change in our communities.  “There has never been a movement in the history of the world that did not have young people as its catalyst.  So whether it’s from the Bible to yesterday it’s always been young people that have led movements for social change.”  Many times youth feel that older individuals have never walked in their shoes and have no idea of what they may be going through, but when Johnson speaks to young people he seems to captivate their attention.  “I think there are some young people who think I’m cool and some young people who think I am corny.  What they like about me is that I’m being honest with them.  I don’t come trying to be somebody that I’m not, I don’t patronize them, and I listen.  I think at the end of the day what young people want is for you to respect the fact that they’ve got ideas, thoughts, and aspirations too.” 

With the race for the White House heating up and the possibility of our next president being African American, do you think a black president will change the state of black America?  “While Obama can be an advocate in pushing forward the legislation that we need, if we as a community aren’t doing what we have to do from a corporate level, from a small business level, from a communal level, from a faith level and comprehensively, then it does not matter if Jesus is in the White House, we have to do it for ourselves.”

Issues like the race for the White House and how the elected candidate will affect African Americans is what Jeff’s new show, “The Truth” will center around. “This is not going to be the black news.  It will be how do we look at issues like the economy, the race for the White House, or job issues, that affect both the entertainment and political [view] from our perspective.  The show will not only capture Jeff’s view, but also the views of those in the community.

With service in the community, opportunities in corporate America, television, and radio, under his belt, what does the future hold for Jeff Johnson?  “I’ve been blessed with opportunities that no, I don’t think I would have ever imagined.  I’d like to continue to be able to provide information through television, producing my own independent documentaries, things that I’m already beginning to do, and I’d like to continue to develop institutions that support young people that are interested in social justice.”

“What I’ve learned through the things that I’ve experienced is that the things that God has set up for me are bigger than what my mind is able to imagine.  I recognize that my job really is to prepare myself for the blessings that I don’t know are coming and if I just allow myself to be prepared for the blessings that I don’t know are coming, I won’t set myself up by dreaming to low,” remarks Johnson.

The Truth airs on BET, Fridays at 11 p.m.

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