Jeffrey Johnson is a communications specialist and journalist. He appeared on the TV show ''

Rap City ''Rap City'', also known as ''Rap City: Tha Basement'' from 1999 to 2005, is a music video television program block that originally aired on the Black Entertainment Television (BET) network from August 11, 1989, to November 8, 2008. The program ...

'' on the

BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

cable network in the United States, where he spoke about such issues as violence and voting.

Early life

Born in the UK, but raised in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, Johnson was an active leader as a child, and participated in

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

. Johnson graduated from

Cleveland Heights High School Cleveland Heights High School is the senior high school of the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District, located in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, United States. History Cleveland Heights High School was established in 1901 by the ...

and went on to attend the

University of Toledo The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a Public university, public research university in Toledo, Ohio, United States. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, ...

, where he was president of the Student Government and the Black Student Union. Johnson served as National Director for the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

's Youth and College Division, as well as Vice President of the

Hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

Summit Action Network. He is married to Jacqueline A. Johnson and a father of four, daughter Madison(1999) and sons Myles, Malcolm and Baldwin.

Black Entertainment Television

Johnson's involvement in these organizations piqued the interest of

, who thought that he could use his knowledge of cultural and political affairs on their show ''

'', He was on the show for two seasons, playing the part of Cousin Jeff. He was also seen on the show ''The Jeff Johnson Chronicles''. In August 2008 he hosted ''The Truth With Jeff Johnson'', a weekly news show.

Recent activities

Johnson has had public speaking engagements at churches, universities and local communities across the United States. He worked as senior advisor for media and youth outreach for People for the American Way, as national director of the youth and college division of the

, and as vice president of the Hip Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN). Johnson was the only American reporter to interview

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ellen Eugenia Johnson Sirleaf (born 29 October 1938) is a Liberian politician who served as the 24th president of Liberia from 2006 to 2018. Sirleaf was the first elected female head of state in Africa. Sirleaf was born in Monrovia to a Gol ...

, Africa's first elected female head of state and

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

's first elected female president. Johnson was one of only two news correspondents to interview Sudanese president

Omar Al-Bashir Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir (born 1 January 1944) is a Sudanese former military officer and politician who served as Head of state of Sudan, Sudan's head of state under various titles from 1989 until 2019, when he was deposed in 2019 Sudanese c ...

, who had not granted interviews with American media outlets for thirteen years. Johnson interviewed President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

, Senator

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

, and Minister

Louis Farrakhan Louis Farrakhan (; born Louis Eugene Walcott; May 11, 1933) is an American religious leader who heads the Nation of Islam (NOI), a Black nationalism, black nationalist organization. Farrakhan is notable for his leadership of the 1995 Million M ...

. In 2007, he testified before the

United States House Committee on Homeland Security The U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Its responsibilities include U.S. security legislation and oversight of the Department of Homeland Security. Role of the committ ...

regarding recovery efforts in the aftermath of

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

(2005). Johnson has published social and political commentaries for CNN.com, The Root.com and Black Politics on the Web.com. Johnson has been quoted by ''Newsweek'' and ''The Boston Globe''. Johnson currently contributes commentary and analysis about issues related to race, politics, popular culture and socio-economics for MSNBC, CNN, Fox News, XM radio, Sirius Satellite Radio, BET and The Dr. Phil Show. Johnson has recently made an appearance at Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley, Georgia. Johnson was also the Detroit host for the 2013 AT&T 28 Days series. Johnson became a member of

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate List of African-American fraternities, historically African American Fraternities and sororities, fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the ...

fraternity on the fraternity's 110th Anniversary, December 4, 2016.

References

External links

* Interview with Jeff Johnson {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Jeff Living people American male journalists American television journalists Cleveland Heights High School alumni Television personalities from Cleveland Journalists from Cleveland University of Toledo alumni Year of birth missing (living people)