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

Rap City ''Rap City'' 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 was an exclusive showcase for hip hop music videos, and featu ...

'' on the

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los ...

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

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

. Johnson graduated from

Cleveland Heights High School Cleveland Heights High School (commonly known as Heights, Heights High or Heights High School) is the senior high school of the Cleveland Heights-University Heights City School District, located in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, United States. Histo ...

and went on to attend the

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

, where he was president of the Student Government and the Black Student Union. Johnson served as National Director for the NAACP's Youth and College Division, as well as Vice President of the Hip hop 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 NAACP, and as vice president of the Hip Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN). Johnson was the only American reporter to interview

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (born Ellen Eugenia Johnson, 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 Monro ...

, Africa's first elected female head of state and Liberia's first elected female president. Johnson was one of only two news correspondents to interview Sudanese president Omar Al-Bashir, 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 served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

, Senator

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

, and Minister

Louis Farrakhan Louis Farrakhan (; born Louis Eugene Walcott, May 11, 1933) is an American religious leader, Black supremacy, black supremacist, Racism, anti-white and Antisemitism, antisemitic Conspiracy theory, conspiracy theorist, and former singer who hea ...

. 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 commit ...

regarding recovery efforts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (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 fraternity on the fraternity's 110th Anniversary, December 4, 2016.

References

External links

TheLoop21.com
Interview with Jeff Johnson {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Jeff Living people American male journalists American television journalists Cleveland Heights High School alumni Journalists from Ohio Television personalities from Cleveland University of Toledo alumni Year of birth missing (living people)