The Passion of Jeff Johnson
Brian Banks

Bridge builder, social and political activist, leadership trainer, the trusted voice of information for our generation-these are just a few of the titles held by Jeff Johnson. This list is sure to expand as Jeff continues to trail blaze a path through the issues that not only affect the Black community, but mainstream society as a whole.

Television viewers know Jeff Johnson best as an on-air personality for BET and CNN. He is seen regularly on Rap City, Meet the Faith and he also hosted the quarterly “Jeff Johnson Chronicles.” He has also been a regular guest contributor on Paula Zahn NOW and Nancy Grace on CNN. He recently played an intricate role in BET’s “Hip Hop vs. America” special as the outspoken moderator with a panel of hip hop stars, authors, writers, and professors. He is certainly no stranger when it comes to tackling controversial issues and taking a stand for issues in which he believes. This was true from the very beginning.

Jeff Johnson was reared in Cleveland, Ohio. His success as a high school athlete afforded him the opportunity to attend the University of Toledo on a track scholarship. He later gave up that scholarship so that he could devote more time to his activism on campus. While attending the University of Toledo, Johnson served two terms as President of the Black Student Union. He accomplished several goals during his tenure including the formation of an Africana Studies Department and a Minority Retention Program. One of Johnson’s biggest achievements was becoming the first and only Black Student Government President. Johnson definitely has an impressive resume that is continually growing, but he still remembers his journey to this moment. “It showed me the difference between leadership and leadership for your people. I was less interested in leadership and more interested in leadership for my people,” he recounts his time at the University of Toledo as the Student Government President.

In keeping with that ideal, Johnson began to volunteer with the NAACP as a youth counselor, and in 1999, Johnson was asked to move to Baltimore to work as the National Youth Counselor Coordinator. This opened several doors for Johnson. In 2003, he left the NAACP to start his own company, Truth Is Power. His company focused on leadership training and governmental relations work. A chance encounter with a colleague afforded him the opportunity to meet with BET’s Steven Hill and the rest is history. The Jeff Johnson experience was born.

Johnson has been given many titles during his career. He’s been called the “voice of strength for the next generation” and the “voice of the Hip Hop vs. America movement.” However, he doesn’t define himself based on these titles. “I don’t embrace any of these titles, I’m Jeff. At the end of the day, I’m going through constant evolution and really trying to have a level of integrity to the evolution that I’m going through.” Johnson believes that titles are limiting and he doesn’t want to be placed within a box. However, he’s humbled by the fact that he’s seen as a leader and that people label him with such strong titles....
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