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Jannie B. JohnsonPresented a New Wine Christian Church, February 5, 2023.
Rev 21:5-6 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.”
Diane is always eager for me to speak on black history. I assume that it is because she thinks me a good essayist. The reality is that I have a somewhat distant relationship with black history. I did not grow up in the South. The first black person I ever saw in person was a black woman who visited our elementary school in Juneau, Alaska. She was dressed in a gingham dress and wore a bandana over her hair. We children decided she must be Aunt Jemimah. I like pancakes. For all I know, she may have been a spokesperson for the pancake brand. I was in high school when a black family moved into our town. They had a son and a daughter, although neither of them was in my class, I noticed that they were quite popular.
It shouldn't be surprising that, when Martin Luther King, Jr. and the various boycotts began appearing on the nightly news, I was mystified as to exactly what the complaint was. The cruelty of racial bigotry, whose spokesman was George Wallis, was beyond my comprehension. It did not exist in my little world.
My mother's parents where immigrants, and not a party to the issues of slavery. On my father's side, I am unclear. I don't believe anyone in his family tree could afford slaves. I would like to believe that, as strong Presbyterians who settled in North Texas, they supported abolition, but that is more than I can say. Living in Alaska, I was insulated from that part of my family's history.
All this to say that the black people I knew most of all, Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben and Little Black Sambo all seemed to be good people. Sambo seemed to be a very clever boy. The other blacks I knew were in the National Geographic Magazine, and they were all strange in an interesting way.
James 3:18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
Eldridge Cleaver wrote Soul on Ice in 1968, which I believe I read in college. I found the book terrifying. It is the portrait of a young man filled with bitter hatred and anger. He committed burglaries, assault and rape and felt fully justified. It was clear that murder was justifiable to him, and in his mind, I was the justified target, despite the fact that I knew very little about the issues that had frozen his soul. The riots on the nightly news, and the cold stares that I was soon to experience living in New York City, now had a vicious edge.
Cleaver, founding member of the Black Panthers, fled the country after leading an attack on police officers, but returned to face justice. During my time in the Unification Church, he became associated with the Moonies' campus outreach, then tried to create a Christian/Muslim church and finally joined the Mormon Church. He also became a Republican. He worked hard at reforming himself and sought God out, although he remained a damaged soul. But from his early book Soul on Ice, we can see a heart reaching for the peace that surpasses all understanding.
“If a man like Malcolm X could change and repudiate racism, if I myself and other former Muslims can change, if young whites can change, then there is hope for America” (Cleaver, Soul on Ice).
Fifty-five years after Soul on Ice the residue of icy stares and self-justifying violence remains. And so we come to George Floyd, a man not unlike young Eldridge Cleaver, a drug abuser, repeatedly charged with assault and drug charges. His image, complete with a hallo, graces a wall in downtown Houston. His only claim to fame is his murder by frustrated and angry police.
Just last week we saw another police beating leaving a young black man dead. It is difficult to watch five black police officers brutally beat a man, who was already subdued. Watching the video, which I could only do once, I saw bad attitudes at play. First, when the victim came to a stop he was immediately swarmed by police. This tells me that he had failed to stop when initially signalled to pull over. He emerged saying he hadn't done anything, and then tried to run. This tells me his attitude was self-justifying and defensive.
The police, on the other hand, sworn defenders of the public trust, attacked with anger and malice overriding all of their training and clear rules of engagement. This indicates to me that their attitude was one of judgement and frustration towards the young black men in this neighborhood. Unfortunately, five young black officers, who have worked hard to create a good career for themselves, have now lost everything they have worked for. It is a tragedy all the way around.
Phillipians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Emeli Sandé is a young singer/songwriter who is considered black. Her father is Nigerian, but her mother is Scottish. Sandé grew up in Scotland. In terms of race issues, I imagine Scotland in her formative years wasn't that different than Juneau, Alaska. When an eager interviewer asker her about troubles she may experienced growing up ‘black’ in white culture, she exclaimed she had none at all, the question seemed silly to her. Her biggest issue was that no one knew how to fix her hair.
Morgan Freeman was asked a similar question, to which he abruptly stopped the interviewer and forcefully stated, “The way to stop racial prejudice is to stop talking about it.” The interviewer, taken aback, quickly changed the topic. Freeman's answer focuses on the big issue. With the media constantly focused on racism and racial injustice, the “soul on ice” keeps getting bigger, not smaller. And the anger, bitterness, self-pity, self-justification that comes from that debt load, the more that the rest of society is justifiably wary of that element within black culture.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that. (Martin Luther King, Jr.)
The results are the tragedies that we see displayed on our television screens night after night. Those tragedies, Floyd in Minnesota, Nichols in Tennessee, are amplified nationwide by an eager press ready to spill all the lurid details. Together with Black Lives Matter, and activists such as our own Quanell X, the issue is unlikely to go away easily.
Martin Luther King, Jr. is the one shining figure who seemed to be able to confront injustice at a very dark time in American race relations without allowing the darkness to invade his thinking or his exhortation. His death was an enormous tragedy for this great nation.
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” (Martin Luther King, Jr.)
Living in Houston for the last 35 years, I have come to know a large number of black citizens. Yes, there are the angry “soul on ice” individuals whom I have met. But, there is an entirely different black culture. A largely unsung culture. These are the individuals that I have met in the work-place, at church, or as additions to my family circle. For the most part, these are those with strong Christian roots. When I worked at Sears, a black colleague was shocked that another black man had espoused atheism. For his mind, blacks are all God-loving people. Clearly that is not entirely true, but the point is that for a very large portion of the black community, the television and film depiction of black society is badly distorted. That includes PBS documentaries. If one avoids showing “Christian” life, one misses the beating heart of America, and that is especially true in the black community, as I see it.
We were pleased to host a former Nazarene pastor at New Wine some months ago. He brought with him The Story and Teachings of Jannie B. Johnson, Formed by God and Called to Teach, a book written by his wife, and younger sister to Johnson. This is the biography of a woman who grew up in rural Mississippi, knowing things that I had to work to understand decades later. She came out of it a principled and right living instructor of the young. Her reach is impressive:
“Jannie B. Johnson is a newspaper columnist, a teacher, a preventative counselor, a radio and television personality and a certified elementary teacher with cognates in Psychology and Sociology. Over a span of fifty years, she collaborated with five school districts as consultant and motivational speaker. More than 50,000 students have benefited from the principled Do right, go straight lifestyle.” (Crockett, The Story and Teachings of Jannie B. Johnson,148).
Johnson knew the fear of mob violence, when the family hosted white voter registration workers from the North (Johnson, 14-15). Nevertheless, her Christian roots caused her to take the high road. So she states, “…behavior is not a racial thing but a personal choice. Injustice is not a virtue; neither is it an excuse for revenge” (Johnson,86). Becoming a victim does not create a saint. Looting the liquor store does not reset the balance.
Johnson petitioned her local school district offering to teach children periodically to “Do right, and go straight.” She was given her opportunity, as she testifies, “By the school year 1989-1999, I was working with eleven elementary schools in a large urban school district reaching over 30,000 students annually. Principals reported 80 to 95% reduction in disciplinary referrals. That was a sign that I was on the right track” (Johnson,96).
Johnson went on to create her own Caring n' Sharing School where she could teach two and three hour sessions in her own environment. Her statement of intent:
“I, Jannie Ballard Johnson believe that NO child has to be bad. I believe that youngsters can learn from others' mistakes BEFORE they make the same. They can learn how to live principle-centered lives and be happy, too. Why not? Knowing how-to live is just as important as knowing how-to make a living.
“I know now that experience is NOT always the best teacher and bought sense is NOT always affordable” (Johnson, xiii).
Her guidelines and letters to students shows a tough, no-nonsense instructor with a mission to bring children into buoyant and Godly adulthood.
“I am not a scholar but I KNOW that the ‘playing field’ is TOO level when and where the following are acceptable:
(Johnson, 134).
- Incorrect English is acceptable everywhere, including schools;
- Profanity is in style;
- Disrespect is comedy;
- Dressing ‘down’ is encouraged [everywhere];
- Sex is considered a matter of orientation, personal choice or lifestyle and
- Truth is relative.”
Phillipians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Burying the past is not a good idea. However, the incessant rehash of sordid history seems to be doing more damage than good to the very community that it proports to heal. In this light, I suggest that the truely transformational characters who we should be celebrated during Black History Month, are the Jannie B. Johnson's of this world, or our own personal minister of light Diane Williams.
I was struck by a commentator on the PBS News Hours, who said that he was the first of his family line who had not grown up under Jim Crowe laws. His statement had the sound of a glass half empty. My thought was this is a man in his fifties, a child of the South, who has lived his life freed from the limitations of Jim Crowe. He is a respected and well paid journalist. His glass is full indeed.
“Change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” (Barack Obama).
We all still await the day when the Morgan Freeman's of this world are asked about their life, without the thought of asking about racial injustice. I close with this:
“Won’t it be wonderful when black history and Native American history and Jewish history and all of U.S. history is taught from one book. Just U.S. history.” (Maya Angelou).