Uncrowned Community Builders

Rev. Johnson came to Buffalo from Meridian Mississippi, where he had been very active in community life. He was a native of Greensboro, Alabama. His parents were Horace and Josephine Bell Johnson. He was a graduate of Alabama State Teacher's College where he met his future wife, Hannah Barnes. He also attended Talledaga College and took courses at the University at Buffalo.

He became minister of Lloyd Memorial Church, Editor of Buffalo American, an African American newspaper published in the early 1920s and Secretary of Buffalo Negro Realty. During the 1920s Buffalo's African American population supported nine newspapers.

The Buffalo American was one of the most important. The Buffalo American helped to forge a collective identity among Blacks that was predicated upon their history and race, as well as their adherence to the concepts of self help and racial solidarity.

Rev. Johnson was recognized as early as 1924 by the main stream press as an influential leader in the African American community. He was often asked to speak at white churches and organizations. He often spoke on the topics of civil rights, breaking down racial barriers and the condition of the Negro.

Rev. Johnson supported the National Urban League which was designed to be an interracial organization whose intent was not only to alleviate the harsh economic conditions which Blacks experienced, but also to ameliorate race relations in general. Rev. Johnson served on the Executive Board of the local NAACP through the depression and after. In 1936 he was appointed field representative of the National Youth Administration Regional Office.

He died on January 19, 1948 and is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo, New York.