• Portrait of Johnny Johnson

    Johnny Johnson

    Johnny Johnson, a native of Covington, GA, has been a resident of Erie for 51 years. He arrived in Erie in 1970 as a newly hired African American teacher and spent 34 ½ years in the Erie Public Schools before retirement. Johnny taught Health and Physical Education at various middle and high schools and served as a coach for many athletics teams, including boys’ basketball and girls’ volleyball, and advisor for many clubs and school organizations including the National Honor Society, Student Assistance Program, and the Student Bible Study Club.

    Johnny was the first African American to coach a varsity basketball team in the history of Erie, having coached at Tech Memorial High School.

    Johnny graduated from Fort Valley State University with a bachelor’s degree in Education and received his master’s degree in Curriculum and Administration in HPE from Slippery Rock State University. He has been active in community and school activities during his professional career. He served as Chairperson for the Ethnic Erie African American Exhibit sponsored and hosted by the Erie History Center in 2008.

    Johnny has had an interest in History from early childhood and has done expensive study and research in African American History in Erie and his native state of Georgia. As one of the founding members of the Harry T. Burleigh Society, he has participated in many historical programs throughout the state of Pennsylvania. He is a re-enactor of historic African American figures in Erie History (Hamilton Waters and Harry T. Burleigh) and has performed in schools and churches. Johnny was also a co-researcher in compiling and presenting African Americans in Erie County: A Trail of Shared Heritage which can be accessed at www.sharedheritage.org and on the VisitErie mobile app.

    After retiring in 2004, Johnny founded the organization “Helping You … Helping Me” in which he sponsored activities for youth and the Erie community. He implemented and supervised the “Road to Success” mentoring program pairing students from the four Erie High Schools to mentor 6th graders at Woodrow Wilson Middle School. He also served as the Education Specialist John F. Kennedy from 2004-2005. He also inaugurated the first Black History Month Spelling Bee for the students in the CHAMPS Program of the Erie City School District. He also hosted a Youth Forum dealing with Black History and speakers talking to youth on issues dealing with success. Sean Gibson was the keynote speaker. Sean is the grandson of the Negro baseball League great Josh Gibson.

    Johnny is the author of the self-published book “Erie African Americans in the 1880’s” and republished the book written by Larry Moore, “Erie Pontiacs: Erie Black Baseball Team”. Johnny is an op-ed contributor to the Erie Times and has written articles for the Lake Erie Lifestyle Magazine.

    Johnny is a Lay Minister at the Cherry Street Church of God. He always serves on the Board of UPMC Hamot, the Martin Luther King Center, the EmergyCare Board, and the former President of Inter-Church Ministries of Erie County. He is active in Our West Bayfront, and current president of the Burleigh Legacy Alliance. He is also a researcher and contributor to the Newton County, Georgia African American Historical Association, and had many articles published in his hometown newspaper, the Covington News.

    Johnny is also an Erie Black History re-enactor doing presentations that include Harry T. Burleigh and his grandfather Hamilton Waters. Johnny has presented Erie Black History presentations at many different venues around Erie and Erie County. He has written many newspaper opinions and Op-eds and done historical research for publication in the Lake Erie Lifestyle Magazine.

    Johnny has been married to his wife Angela for 50 years and they are the proud parents of two children: Geoffrey, a software engineer, who resides in East Stroudsburg, PA and Dr. Danielle Johnson of Mason, Ohio, Director of Women’s Mental Health and Chief Medical Officer at the Lindner Center of Hope in Mason, Ohio and Professor at University of Cincinnati Medical School. The Johnsons are proud grandparents to Daniel Mooney, Johnny Mooney, Marviel Matthews and Jessica Gomez and great grandparents to Kelly Elizabeth and Karman who resides with mother and father, Sgt. Jonathan Gomez, currently stationed at Fort Bliss in El Paso, TX.